Quinn gets go-ahead to retain services of merchant bankers

The High Court has granted Quinn Insurance and the administrators appointed to the group permission to retain the services of merchant bankers Macquarie Capital Europe to advise them in any prospective sale of the group.

The court also approved the costs to date incurred by joint administrators Michael McAteer and Paul McCann of Grant Thornton, who were appointed by the court last March.

Yesterday the president of the High Court Mr Justice Nicholas Kearns said he was satisfied to grant liberty to the administrators and the Quinn group to retain the merchant bankers as advisers.

The court’s decision permits both the directors of Quinn insurance group and the administrators to engage the firm, which is part of the Australian-based multinational Macquarie group, in its attempt to sell the troubled insurance giant.

The judge also said he was satisfied to approve the administrator’s own costs, legal and public relations costs incurred to date, after independent professionals indicated in affidavits to the court that such costs were “fair and reasonable”.

Bernard Dunleavy Bl for the administrators told the court that tenders to advise Quinn Insurance in any sale had been received from three merchant banking firms. While negotiations have taken place the administrators and Quinn Insurance required the permission of the court in order to retain Macquarie’s services.

Counsel said that Macquarie Capital’s proposal was deemed as the most favourable, although the terms of a final agreement had yet to finalised. Counsel also said the administrators wish to be transparent and place in the public domain the level of fees that may be paid to Macquarie.

However, counsel said that “as a matter of commercial sensitivity” the level of remuneration to be paid to Macquarie should not be revealed “in advance of any successful outcome” for the group.

The administrators sought also the approval of the costs of €565,000 for their work between March 30, 2010, and April 30, 2010, and want liberty to invoice the company monthly up to the end of July for sums not exceeding €1.8 million.

In a report furnished to the court last month the administrators want to pay their solicitors €120,000 for work between March 30 and April 30 last and liberty to pay further legal costs.

They were seeking court approval to pay Hume Brophy PR Consultants €50,000 for work carried out between March 30 and April 30 last, plus approval to pay the firm €10,000 per month for work from May to July 2010.