US banks linked to proposed IFI bid

The British arms of Chase Manhattan Bank and Bank of America are linked to the proposed bid for Irish Fertilizer Industries (IFI) by Grande Portage and "both could play a role in the development of the company" if the bid is successful, a spokesman for the major shareholder in the bidding company said yesterday.

Mr Arthur T. Griffis, president of Grande Portage Resources, which is quoted on the Vancouver stock exchange, said that if the bid was successful a team of Irish executives - "all very experienced in the right sectors" - was ready to be put in place.

Two bids for IFI, which is 51 per cent owned by the State and 49 per cent owned by the British chemicals group ICI, are currently being considered. The second bid is from the Irish publicly-quoted company IAWS, in conjunction with the Finland-based international chemicals and fertiliser group Kemira. The sale is being handled by Investment Bank of Ireland.

Grande Portage Resources, Toronto, owned 95 per cent of Grande Portage Ltd, the Irish company which had put in a bid, Mr Griffis said. The remaining 5 per cent is owned by Ganley International, the British management services company owned by Galway-based entrepreneur Mr Declan Ganley. Ganley International also has a share in Grande Portage Resources. "It's less than 10 per cent, but substantial," Mr Griffis said. The rest of the Canadian company was owned by US investment funds and the general public, he said.

It is understood that if the bid is successful the Grande Portage Resources shareholding in the Irish company will be diluted, with shareholdings being taken by the US banks and by equity investors.

Grande Portage Resources was formerly a mining company, but currently had no mining properties which are working, Mr Griffis said. "We wanted to diversify from mining to oil and gas and it appears the time is right to make that switch," he said. As well as the bid for IFI, the company is also involved in negotiations in Albania concerning a gas field and "is at a very early stage" in applying for an interest in an Irish offshore gas field. Mr Griffis said he did not want to comment further on the Irish gas field project.

The directors of Grande Portage Ltd are: Mr Phil Flynn (chairman); Mr Ganley; Mr Don de Marino, a US businessman and former member of the Bush administration; Mr Mitchell Allend, the president of a US-based corporate finance house; Mr David McKenna, of Irish recruitment firm Marlborough International and Mr Mark Erhart, a US attorney.