LEADING DEVELOPER Liam Carroll is believed to have sold more than 31 million shares in Aer Lingus yesterday at an estimated loss of about €20 million.
It is understood Mr Carroll sold the Aer Lingus shares at €1.15 apiece, having accumulated his holding earlier this year at prices close to €2 a share.
The share deal, described by many stockbrokers yesterday as a "fire sale", would have yielded Mr Carroll €40.25 million. The shares were sold by Goodbody Stockbrokers.
When contacted by The Irish Timesabout the transaction, Mr Carroll said: "I never comment to newspapers."
As a result of the global credit crunch, a significant number of property developers in Ireland have been placed under pressure recently by banks to cash in assets and reduce their debts.
It is not known whether this might have prompted Mr Carroll's decision to sell his Aer Lingus shareholding at a loss.
Mr Carroll is one of Ireland's wealthiest developers. His Dublin-based company Zelderbridge has more than 60 subsidiaries.
As the airline does not pay a dividend, Mr Carroll was reported to have invested in Aer Lingus at the turn of the year as a play on the possible redevelopment of its headquarters at Dublin airport.
Some of Mr Carroll's Aer Lingus shares were yesterday snapped up by Ryanair. In a statement issued last night, the Michael O'Leary-led airline said it had acquired an additional 3.5 million shares in Aer Lingus yesterday to take its stake to 29.82 per cent.
Aer Lingus's share price fell by 16 per cent in Dublin yesterday to a record low of €1.15.
Mr Carroll is reported to have spent about €400 million in the past couple of years buying shares in Irish-listed companies. He owns more than 29 per cent of food group Greencore and ferry operator Irish Continental Group.
He also has a stake of just under 10 per cent in property group McInerney, and a holding of 4-5 per cent in insurer FBD.
Rumours circulated yesterday that Mr Carroll had also sold some stock in these companies, but this could not be confirmed.
Greencore's shares declined yesterday by more than 7 per cent, while McInerney was down by 26.5 per cent, and FBD and ICG were both down 4.4 per cent.
Mr Carroll has tended to acquire shares in Irish public companies through contracts for difference (CFDs), which do not require him to declare his interests.