Share receiver appointed over Quinn family shares

Anglo Irish Bank, which will remain a minority shareholder in Quinn Group, has appointed a share receiver over the Quinn family’s shares in the group.

The share received has already appointed a number of non-executive directors to the board of directors of Quinn Group. As a result, Sean Quinn and the Quinn family will no longer have any role in the management, operations or ownership of the Quinn Group.

A share receiver takes control of the shares only, and not the assets, businesses or employees of the Quinn Group. The share receiver has also been appointed to the Quinn family’s international property group.

Minister for Finance Michael Noonan welcomed the news.

He said, “I welcome the debt restructuring plan which has been agreed in principle between Anglo Irish Bank and the group’s lenders. This structure will enable the good and strong businesses to continue to trade and grow. It is particularly important that there will be no impact on employment, on trade creditors or on day to day operations of the Quinn Group.”

The Minister remained tight-lipped on the sale of Quinn Insurance to Liberty Mutual, the US’s fifth largest insurer.

“I am constrained in what I can disclose in respect of a commercial sales process, which remains ongoing,” he said.

But he noted “the positives of the proposed agreement in that almost all 1,500 jobs in Quinn Insurance will be retained”.