Anglo Irish Bank still in talks over Quinn deal

THE state-owned Anglo Irish Bank is still in talks with the regulator with a view to buying the entire Quinn Group.

Sources close to the talks said “constructive discussions” are continuing between both sides and a takeover has not been ruled out.

Anglo has already said it will pay €700 million to take over the conglomerate built up by Sean Quinn, one of the country’s richest men.

Of that, €150m would go to remedy the solvency question and €550m would be used to pay off the banks, thereby removing the guarantees that have compromised the insurance company’s solvency.

Anglo has the backing of the Quinn Group for the move and it has said it would retain Sean Quinn as chairman of the overall business.

Quinn and his family owe the State bank €2.8 billion and a further €1.2bn is owed by the group to an international consortium of banks. A takeover of Quinn by Anglo should remove the threat hanging over thousands of jobs in the wider Quinn organisation, where up 5,500 are employed, mainly in border areas.

A spokeswoman for the bank said talks were taking place with a “view to maximising its return” from the Quinn Group.

Liam McCaffrey, the Quinn Group’s chief executive, said recently the best outcome would be to retain Quinn Insurance within the main group and bring the firm out of administration “at the earliest opportunity.”

Meanwhile, the newly- appointed administrators have prioritised getting the Northern Ireland and other British parts of the insurance business re-opened.

These account for about 40% of the business and the closure is having a huge impact. QI is losing up to €1.5m a day as a result of the ban on writing new business in Britain, staff have alleged.

A plan to resume trading there has been with the regulator for over a week and the administrators hope to get clearance from the regulator in the coming days.

The administrators to QI, Paul McCann and Michael McAteer of Grant Thornton, are also expected to open talks with potential buyers shortly.

Close to 30 expressions of interest have been lodged but no quick sale is anticipated, a spokesman for the regulators said.

The regulators’ office said it would make a decision “within days” regarding the reopening of business in the company’s British-based operations, which would be a welcome relief for the 2,800 employees whose jobs are potentially on the line.

It will also be consulting with its British counterpart, the Financial Services Authority, over its findings.

Mr McAteer said there were a number of options available regarding the sale of the company, but it was “way too soon” to decide on any one path.

It was particularly important that there was “clarity” in relation to their role at the company, he said.

While the main shareholder in the insurance firm remains the Quinn Group, it is within the administrators’ powers to sell the business if that was the right course of action, Mr McAteer said.