O'Brien brings IN&M stake up to 10.3%

Businessman Denis O'Brien has bought more shares in Independent News & Media (IN&M), bringing his stake in the newspaper group to 10.3 per cent.

In a statement to the stock exchange yesterday, Mr O'Brien said he now has control over 76.9 million IN&M shares through four brokerages. Prior to yesterday's announcement he controlled 9.1 per cent.

The price paid for the shares wasn't revealed in yesterday's announcement, but the stock is down 22 per cent since its recent peak of €3.87 at the start of June. Since hitting this level, Mr O'Brien appears to have been absent from the market. He first bought into IN&M back in January 2006 when the stock was trading at about €2.54.

IN&M, which is run by Sir Anthony O'Reilly, a long-standing business rival of Mr O'Brien, has also been buying back its own shares in recent months. It has now bought back a total of 32.4 million units, or more than 4 per cent of the group's issued stock.

The company has said the buyback is to avoid the over-dilution of existing holdings when New Zealand convertible shares mature at the end of November. These securities have the potential to be converted into a maximum of 56 million new shares and will therefore dilute existing holdings unless an equivalent number of units are bought back.

The intentions of Mr O'Brien, who is also believed to have been buying up New Zealand preference shares, are unclear, though it is suggested he will make a bid for the company at some point.