A FORMER director of NCB Stockbrokers told the Mahon Tribunal yesterday he believed a £5,000 company payment made to Bertie Ahern 14 years ago was a political donation.

THE identity of the top two ranking bidders for the State’s second mobile phone licence was known by former Communications Minister Michael Lowry before the final decision on the successful applicant was made.

The new private health insurance company that entered the market today promised to challenge the lack of competition in the industry.

THREE Irish banks that promised financial support if Denis O’Brien’s Esat Digifone won the country’s second mobile phone licence expressed their concern at the way financier Dermot Desmond came on board, the Moriarty Tribunal heard yesterday.

Dermot Desmond's finance vehicle IIU Nominees has sold its remaining stake in radiator and plastics group Barlo for just over €3.8m.

Independent directors of Barlo, the plastics and radiators group, last night were recommended a takeover offer of 48c per share.

FINANCIER Dermot Desmond is just €700,000 away from the 20% stake needed to block the controversial management buyout of plastics and radiator group Barlo.

Dermot Desmond has increased his stake in the Barlo group to 19.1%, effectively scuppering a management buyout of the company.

Dermot Desmond has upped his stake in plastics and radiator manufacturing group Barlo to just under 17%.

DERMOT DESMOND is inching closer to blocking the management buy-out of the plastics and radiator group Barlo.

Financier Dermot Desmond upped his Barlo stake again last Friday with the purchase of another million shares in the MBO target company.

ATTEMPTS by chairman Denis O’Brien to gain control of Esat Digifone threatened to collapse the Irish/Norwegian consortium bidding for the country’s second mobile licence, a witness told the Moriarty Tribunal yesterday.

The ISEQ closed up 79 points to 5171 yesterday as investors kept an eye on company results due to be released this week.

CONTROVERSIAL businessman Dermot Desmond has accused the Moriarty Tribunal of “losing the plot” over the manner in which it investigated his involvement in the consortium which won the lucrative second mobile phone licence.

Dublin: Dermot Desmond has upped his stake in the plastics group Barlo again.

TWO businessmen who set up an asset management company have sold 30% of the firm for around €15 million.

A new asset management company, Cardinal Asset Management, focusing on alternative asset investment products and services for the institutional market, has been launched by Nick Corcoran and Nigel McDermott.

Dermot Desmond, has increased its stake in management buyout (MBO) target Barlo to 14.8%.

FINANCIER Dermot Desmond has edged his shareholding in plastics and radiator group Barlo closer to the key 20% mark that would allow him to block the controversial management buyout (MBO) attempt led by chief executive Tony Mullins.

The Iseq index finished down 126.70 points at 5060.58 on Tuesday as AIB saw €1 disappear off its share price.

IIU the investment vehicle controlled by Dermot Desmond has bought another 3.6 million shares in Barlo, according to the Irish Stock Exchange.

It has emerged that Bottin International Investments, an investment vehicle controlled by Dermot Desmond, has increased its stake in plastics and radiator group Barlo to 11% after the purchase of another 1.2 million shares.

BARLO shares rose over 7% to 44 cents yesterday in response to financier Dermot Desmond bringing his stake in the plastics and radiator company above the 10% level.

THE proposed takeover of Barlo looked increasingly uncertain yesterday as news emerged that controversial financier Dermot Desmond had raised his stake in the plastics and radiator company to 7.7%.

NORWEGIAN executive Per Simonsen insisted at the Moriarty Tribunal yesterday that Esat Digifone chairman Denis O’Brien told him Communications Minister Michael Lowry had suggested, when the two Irishmen met in a Dublin pub, that he get financier Dermot Desmond to back the Digifone consortium.

FINANCIER Dermot Desmond’s company prevented “World War 3” breaking out between Denis O’Brien’s Communicorp Group and Norwegian State telecoms firm Telenor, the Moriarty Tribunal heard yesterday.

ESAT Digifone would never have signed the country’s second mobile phone licence if the Department of Communications was unhappy financier Dermot Desmond had come on board, entrepreneur Denis O’Brien told the Moriarty Tribunal yesterday.

FINANCIER Dermot Desmond “gave us what we wanted” when he agreed to underwrite 60% of Esat Digifone, former consortium non-executive director John Callaghan told the Moriarty Tribunal yesterday.

FOUR days before Esat Digifone got the licence to run the country’s second mobile phone network, businessman Denis O’Brien threatened legal action against financier Dermot Desmond, the Moriarty Tribunal heard yesterday.

FORMER civil servant Fintan Towey yesterday denied the reason department officials took no notes of a key meeting with Esat Digifone was to conceal what was being discussed before the GSM2 licence was issued.

SENIOR civil servant Fintan Towey viewed a letter showing Dermot Desmond’s early involvement in Esat Digifone as the consortium’s attempt to boost its prospects of winning the State’s second mobile phone licence competition.

FINANCIER Dermot Desmond has personally contacted Mr Justice Michael Moriarty on a number of occasions to complain about the way the tribunal is conducting its inquiry, the clearly annoyed chairman said yesterday.

THE former department secretary general John Loughrey yesterday regretted allowing civil servants hold a press conference in April 1996 to defend their decision to give the second mobile telephone licence to Esat Digifone.

SENIOR civil servant Martin Brennan told the Moriarty Tribunal yesterday he would have probed Dermot Desmond’s link to the second mobile phone licence if he had known about the financier’s part in an earlier controversial property deal.

ROWS between the Irish and Norwegian partners threatened Esat Digifone’s survival less than a week before the consortium was granted the licence to operate the country’s second mobile phone network, the Moriarty Tribunal heard yesterday.

THERE was nothing strange about Telecom Minister Michael Lowry warning ESB it faced being forced to allow ESAT Digifone to site mobile phone masts on the company’s land, a senior civil servant claimed yesterday.

Dermot Desmond's investment vehicle, has taken a 13.55% stake in airline software company Datalex.

FINANCIER Dermot Desmond’s backing of Esat Digifone was not known to the civil servant in charge of the evaluation process when the Irish-led consortium won the second mobile phone licence, the Moriarty Tribunal heard yesterday.

A FEW days before Esat Digifone got the second mobile phone licence, Michael Lowry sought information on Dermot Desmond’s finances, the Moriarty Tribunal heard yesterday.

A COMPANY headed by multi-millionaire businessman Denis O’Brien, who netted over £230m following the sale of the State’s second mobile phone company, did not even have enough cash to pay its share of the licence fee, the Moriarty Tribunal was told yesterday.

The Moriarty Tribunal has heard details of how former ESAT chairman Denis O'Brien brought millionaire businessman Dermot Desmond into his bid for Ireland's second mobile phone licence.

THE opening statement of the Moriarty Tribunal’s latest module investigating the awarding of the country's second mobile phone licence has revealed the following information, claims and counterclaims.

The Moriarty Tribunal resumed today and heard that the Esat application for the second mobile phone licence dropped to fourth place out of six applications just a few weeks before it went on to win the competition in October 1995.

FIVE days after Denis O’Brien’s consortium made its pitch for the second mobile phone licence, Denis O’Brien met the Communications Minister, Michael Lowry.