Financier Dermot Desmond has revealed that he has built a stake in Golden Vale. He now holds 6.23 per cent of its equity following his purchase of 2,174,924 shares on Monday.
The announcement that Mr Desmond had increased his stake by more than 1.3 percentage points in the dairy food group was made to the Irish Stock Exchange yesterday.
The acquisition meant he had to disclose the holding as it now exceeds the 5 per cent threshold.
Based on the closing price of €1.14 (90p), Mr Desmond spent €2.48 million on the purchase through his investment vehicle, the IFSC-based International Investment and Underwriting Ltd.
Before Monday's purchase, Mr Desmond had 7,680,000 shares, amounting to 4.86 per cent of the company.
He made a profit of almost £4 million on the firm, based in Charleville, Cork, in February 1998, when he sold an 8 per cent holding that he then held. Mr Desmond has been an active investor in second-line Irish stocks in recent years.
His renewed interest in the company is likely to trigger other investor interest in the group, which, like most other ISEQ-listed companies, has suffered recently from institutions switching their portfolios to larger stocks listed on European indices.
There has been speculation on the future of engineering group Unidare in recent months, after Mr Desmond, with his partner Mr Pierce Casey, increased their combined stake in the group from 18.5 per cent to 26.6 per cent.
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