High Court approves sale of Quinn Insurance

THE President of the High Court has approved the sale of Quinn Insurance Ltd to a joint venture of US insurer Liberty Mutual and Anglo Irish Bank.

The decision means a total €738 million of public money will be paid out of the state’s insurance compensation fund to the insurer, including an immediate payment of €320m to facilitate the sale with the remainder later, subject to applications to the court.

A representative of the insurer’s employees had told the court the vast majority supported the sale because they believe it will safeguard their livelihoods.

Yesterday, after a three-day hearing, Mr Justice Nicholas Kearns approved the sale proposals advanced by the insurer’s joint administrators.

The judge said he had decided to give his decision immediately given the fact the proposed transaction is subject to time limits, the commercial sensitivities involved and the needs of the affected parties for certainty.

He said he had decided to approve the transfer by Quinn to Liberty of those parts of the insurance business as identified in the sale scheme. He would give his full reasons for his decision in a written judgment next week, the judge added.

The joint administrators of Quinn had told the court the alternative to the proposed sale was liquidation of the insurer with a deficit of about €1,300m and 1,600 job losses.

Denis McDonald SC, for the administrators, said the sale scheme provided for the entire workforce of Quinn Insurance to be transferred to Liberty and the management of policies would continue with the same staff.

A solicitor representing the Quinn Group Ltd told the court yesterday the group wished to make clear it was fully supportive of the sale proposals of the administrators and was not involved in the alternative proposals.