Investors offer to sell millions of shares in One51 plc

SEVEN MILLION shares in One51 plc, the Irish investment company led by Philip Lynch, have been offered for sale by a group of investors led by Limerick-based businessman John Hegarty.

This is believed to follow a disagreement between Mr Hegarty and Mr Lynch in regard to issues relating to Hegarty Metals, a company sold to One51 in 2007.

In an unprecedented move, the shares have been advertised for sale in the national media at €2 each by McMahon O’Brien solicitors in Limerick.

The advertisement states that the shares last traded at €2.80. “Discount considered for large volume purchase,” it adds.

One51 is an unlisted plc and its shares trade in a grey market operated by Davy, NCB and Bloxham stockbrokers.

The shares have been placed on the market by a handful of investors – thought to be between four and six – led by Mr Hegarty.

Mr Hegarty was the lead shareholder in Hegarty Metals when it was sold to One51 three years ago.

He was paid cash and shares for his stake in the business and remained with the company after the deal closed.

It is not clear if he remains an employee of One51, in light of the recent disagreement, which relates to a number of issues, including a restructuring of the company’s operations.

A spokesman for One51 declined to comment.

No comment was available from McMahon O’Brien solicitors at the time of going to press and Mr Hegarty could not be reached.

The identity of the other investors selling shares in One51 could not be established.

The backers of Limerick-based Hegarty Metals made close to €56 million from selling their business to One51, according to filings in the Companies Office.

Mr Hegarty, who lives in Drombana, Co Limerick, received 65 per cent of this consideration, with the balance going to fellow shareholder Tony Donlan.

Hegarty is one of three metals businesses that form part of One51’s environmental services division. The others are A1 Metal Recycling and Galway Metal.

Hegarty was founded in 1955 and handles about 50,000 tonnes of scrap metal annually, much of which is recycled.

In 2007, the year of the sale to One51, the company posted an operating profit of €6.5 million on turnover of €67 million.

Shares in One51, which has interests in waste, infrastructure, property and food, are highly illiquid and it is not clear if there will be demand for the seven million now placed on the market.