IAWS Co-op to convert to a plc and complete part-takeover of SWS

IAWS Co-op will soon convert to a plc and complete its part-takeover of SWS, before starting trading in the enlarged group’s shares by June 2006 at the latest, chief executive Philip Lynch has confirmed.

The deal involving the Bandon-based SWS group, for which the co-op offered €42.5m up front, to be followed by earn-outs of over €26m over the following three years, is expected to conclude in late summer.

The co-op board meets in July to change its status to a publicly limited company, breaking from the structure it took when it was set up in 1897.