One51 eyes dual listing in Dublin as Ireland to remain base

One51, the former Irish investment group that has evolved into an international rigid plastics manufacturer, is considering a listing for its stock in Dublin as well as Toronto as it prepares to float within in the next 12 to 18 months.

The company's chief executive, Alan Walsh, told analysts and fund managers at a series of meetings this week, following the publication of first-half results, that, while no decision has been made, he would expect the company to have a listing in both cities, according to sources. The company has about 2,000 shareholders in Ireland.

While there has been speculation that the company may move its corporate base to Canada, given that about three-quarters of the group's revenue is currently generated in North America, Mr Walsh and his chief financial officer, Pat Dalton, said Ireland will remain its headquarters.

Ireland’s 12.5 per cent tax rate is less than half the general Canadian rate, while One51 is known to be interested in expanding further in Europe through acquisition.

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A spokesman for the company declined to comment.

Meanwhile, there is growing expectation that the Canadian investment firm, Caisse de Dupot et Placement du Quebec (CDPQ), which acquired businessman Dermot Desmond’s approximate 25 per cent holding in One51 in May, will increase its stake in the Irish group before an IPO as part of a broader restructuring of the business.

CDPQ and Canadian government agency Fonds de Solidarité own a combined 33 per cent stake in North American plastics company IPL, in which One51 acquired a controlling 67 per cent interest in 2015. IPL currently accounts for about 60 per cent of group revenues.

The Canadian firms have a right to force One51 to buy them out in 2021. As a result of an increase in IPL’s earnings in the first half of this year, the Irish firm has had to increase the liability for such a purchase to €83.4 million in June from €72.2 million in December.

Goodbody Stockbrokers analysts David O'Brien and Robert Eason said in a report published last week that One51 may seek to enter tidy up the complex arrangement before an IPO and allow the Canadian firms' to swap their IPL stakes for a stake in the One51 group.

One51 was set up in 2005 as an investment business spun out of food and agri group IAWS and initially held assets including a 26 per cent stake in infrastructure company NTR and Irish Pride Bakers. IAWS subsequently renamed Aryzta.

Mr Walsh has spent his seven years in charge of One51 unravelling the firm's collection of disparate investments, including a major stake in ferries operator Irish Continental Group.

The company virtually completed its divestment programme in the first half of this year with the sale of its CircleClear UK and Irish hazardous waste businesses.

While One51, which posted a 33 per cent increase in earnings before interest and tax in the first half to €20.1 million, is known to be interested in buying further rigid plastics businesses, including Europe, the company is expected to hold of until after the IPO before actively pursuing other opportunities.