Desmond a major beneficiary

Financier Mr Dermot Desmond's will make $10 million (£6.7 million) in cash as a result of the sale of Baltimore Technologies to Zergo Holdings.

Mr Desmond, who held a stake in Baltimore estimated at between 55 and 60 per cent, will also own a 15 per cent shareholding in the enlarged company, valued at some £15 million sterling (£16.9 million) at present.

Of the nine million Zergo shares being issued to Baltimore shareholders as part of the acquisition, 1.7 million are being sold to Intel on a pro rata basis, excluding employees, to give the US multinational a 6.26 per cent share of the new firm. This will leave the Baltimore shareholders, who also include management, staff and associates of Mr Desmond, with a stake of nearly 27 per cent in the merged entity.

Baltimore's chief executive, Mr Fran Rooney, who owned more than 12 per cent of the company, will end up with a four per cent stake in the new firm. He will be chief operating officer of the merged group.

Baltimore's shareholders will also share in £3.0 million sterling (£3.4 million) of loan notes, issued as part of the transaction.