The Rodinheights offer for Green Property has become unconditional following its acceptance by 86.7 per cent of Green shareholders. Rodinheights, which is controlled by Mr Stephen Vernon, Merrill Lynch and ICC Holdings, needed an 80 per cent acceptance rate for its €1.05 billion bid to achieve success.
The consortium had won 76.7 per cent by last Friday, the first closing date for its offer, and at that stage extended the offer period until August 16th.
Standard & Poor's has cut its credit rating on Green from BBB- to BB to reflect the highly leveraged nature of the Rodinheights buy-out.
The ratings agency has also expressed concern about a weakening in Green Property's business profile.
It believes that the relative importance of property development is set to rise for the company as it sells seasoned assets to repay short-term debt at Rodinheights.
Standard & Poor's is to review its rating on Green as soon as more information is available on the Rodinheights acquisition.
Shares in Green Property closed at €9.73 in Dublin last night, unchanged on the day. Rodinheights has agreed to pay €9.80 per share.
Ryanair Boeing purchase backed
RYANAIR shareholders yesterday approved the purchase from Boeing of 100 737-800 aircraft with rolling options on a further 50. Combined, the aircraft have a market value of $5 billion (€5.1 billion) and will be delivered in the six years between December 2002 and December 2008.
Ryanair chief executive Mr Michael O'Leary said he was pleased shareholders had voted in favour of the proposal at the company's extraordinary general meeting.
"This is a further element of our long-term growth strategy, which will enable us to offer even lower fares to more European consumers in the next eight years," he said.
Ryanair first announced plans for the massive order of new aircraft in January. At the time the order was the single biggest one for next-generation 737s.
The airline needs to increase its existing fleet of 49 aircraft if it is to achieve its ambitious growth targets of a 25 per cent per annum rise in passenger numbers.
The new aircraft have a market value of €68 million each or €9 billion in total. However, the airline negotiated a significant discount because of the size of the order.
Pernod Ricard posts 18% rise in sales
FRANCE'S Pernod Ricard posted an 18 per cent rise in first-half sales yesterday to €2.574 billion as its new Seagram brands helped boost turnover from its core wines and spirits business by a robust 78 per cent.
Pernod, propelled to third place in the global spirits rankings by its partial acquisition of the Seagram drinks portfolio in December, said that, on an organic basis, first-half turnover was up 3.4 per cent.
Among its 12 key brands, Jameson was one of just five to report an increase in sales, with volumes rising 5 per cent. - (Reuters)
AIBIM reduces stake in Kingspan to 5.98%
AIB Investment Managers (AIBIM) has reduced its stake in Kingspan to 5.98 per cent from 6.7 per cent following the sale of more than 1.2 million shares in the building materials company.
MyTravel introduces low-cost service
MYTRAVEL, Britain's biggest package tour operator, yesterday joined the budget airline battle, announcing the introduction of a low-cost service.
The group, which changed its name from Airtours earlier this year, said the airline would be called MyTravelLite and would be based at Birmingham airport. - (Financial Times Service)
Two charged after counterfeit seizure
TWO people have been charged by police following the seizure of up to £300,000 sterling (€473,034) of counterfeit bank notes by the serious crime squad in Northern Ireland.
A 41-year-old Newtownabbey man will appear in court today charged with the manufacture of counterfeit currency, the possession of counterfeit currency and the possession of items for use in counterfeiting.
A 36-year-old woman from the same town has been charged with money laundering. She has been released on bail and will appear in court at a later date. - (PA)
