Power returns to the helm at Mean Fiddler

The deal that would have seen Mean Fiddler founder Mr Vince Power leave the company with €18 million has been abandoned after the listed music promoter ousted its newly appointed chief executive, Mr Dean James, yesterday.

Shares in the London-quoted group slumped by 22 per cent to close at 41.5 pence sterling after it announced that Mr James had been "removed from the board with immediate effect" and said that it was putting the planned share placing and sale, announced a week ago, in abeyance.

As part of that process, Mr Power was to sell his 21.5 million shares in the company for €18 million and stand down as chairman. That would have been a prelude to leaving Mean Fiddler altogether and concentrating on other interests.

He and three other equity holders were to sell a total of 34.7 million shares in the company for 55 pence sterling (79.6 cents). The company was also due to issue and place a further 10.2 million new shares with financial institutions at the same price.

However, it has reinstated Mr Power as chairman. One source last night insisted that this would be "permanent".

The company said that it would also begin looking for a new chief executive.

Mean Fiddler is also planning to pull out of the planned purchase of its digital partner, Media Internet Telecom (MIT). Its chief executive, Mr Richard Clingen, was due to succeed Mr Power as chairman, but the company said that he would not now be joining the board.

Mr James's departure triggered the reversal of Mr Power's planned exit, the share sale and placement, and the MIT purchase. The Irish Times understands that a number of differences between the new chief executive and other key figures in the company prompted the decision.

Mr Melvyn Benn, who managed the festivals business, resigned within six hours of Mr James's appointment last Wednesday.

Mr James worked successfully as chief operating officer for three years before becoming chief executive.

Mean Fiddler operates a number of live venues in Britain, and runs the Reading music festival and Fleadh Irish music showcases. It also has a stake in the UK's biggest festival, Glastonbury.

Mr Power, who is from Kilmacthomas in Co Waterford, started the business in a small pub in north London in 1981.

He has a range of other business interests, including a share in Tramore racecourse, a night club in Waterford and a number of bars and restaurants in London's west end.