O’Brien increases his stake in INM

DENIS O’BRIEN has upped his stake in Independent News & Media (INM) by nearly 5%, overtaking former chief executive Tony O’Reilly as the group’s largest individual shareholder.

It is believed the shares were acquired from Bank of Ireland, which yesterday began the process of selling certain assets and shareholdings in order to meet capital requirements.

Mr O’Brien yesterday purchased a further 169 million shares in the media group, through four separate investment vehicles, taking his total number of shares to just over 651 million. This means he now owns 18.61% of INM.