The €412 million sale of the former Ringsend glassmaking plant in Dublin to a consortium led by property developer Bernard McNamara was confirmed yesterday by the current owner South Wharf.

Under the terms of the agreement, shareholders in South Wharf will receive not less than €7 per share - a premium of at least 61 per cent on the closing share price on June 29th - the last day of business prior to the announcement that the company had settled its long-standing dispute with Dublin Port Company, which cleared the way for the sale.

In addition, each shareholder will receive one share in Lantor - a new company being created to take over South Wharf's remaining agency sales business - for every one South Wharf share held, and a further possible payment of as much as five cent per share depending on the number of warrants exercised.

The Becbay consortium, which is 41 per cent owned by Mr McNamara, 33 per cent by Derek Quinlan, and 26 per cent by Dublin Docklands Development Authority, won the race to buy the site after tendering the highest bid.

Acquiring the land in this way allows Becbay to pay only 1 per cent stamp duty as applicable to the taking over of a company, rather than the usual 9 per cent related to property deals. In return, it gets what is believed to be a very valuable plot of land in central Dublin.

In a statement to the stock exchange yesterday, South Wharf said it would be recommending that shareholders approve the deal, which it believes represents attractive value for the group.

The transaction is being funded through a combination of new debt issued by Anglo Irish Bank and the sale of more equity and loan stock to Becbay's current shareholders.

Shares in South Wharf yesterday added 10 cent, or 1.5 per cent, to close at €7.