Desmond makes a killing on Baltimore stock sale

Dublin financier Mr Dermot Desmond has made a stock market killing by selling two million shares in Baltimore technologies for up to £55 million (€70 million). Mr Desmond has not disclosed the actual price at which he sold the shares but Baltimore traded yesterday between £20.83 and £22.88 sterling on the London stock market.

This is the second time this year that Mr Desmond has sold a shareholding in a company for a huge sum.

In February, his IIU investment vehicle sold a 9 per cent stake in mobile phone operator Esat Digifone to Esat Telecom and Telenor for $114 million (€110 million). IIU retains a 1 per cent holding in Esat Digifone.

Baltimore, in which Mr Desmond had a majority stake, was acquired by the British software group Zergo Holdings last year. After the takeover, the merged company changed its name from Zergo to Baltimore to capitalise on the Irish company's reputation in the burgeoning e-commerce market.

Mr Desmond received £6.7 million sterling in cash and 3.5 million Zergo (now Baltimore) shares.

In March, Mr Desmond sold 155,000 Baltimore shares for around £1 million, retaining 3.3 million shares.

He retains a 3.5 cent stake (1.29 million shares) worth £28.5 million sterling - more than £36 million - at Baltimore's closing price in London yesterday of £22.88 sterling.

Mr Desmond has previously made a £4 million profit in foods group Golden Vale and has reinvested in the company in the past year, building up a 6.2 per cent stake. He also bought a 10 per cent stake in Northern Ireland engineering group Powerscreen in an apparent effort to block the £181 million takeover of Powerscreen by the American group Terex. This year, Mr Desmond also joined forces with another Irish financier, Mr Pierce Casey, to take a 29.9 per cent stake in engineering group Unidare.

Mr Desmond was not available for comment last night.