Murtagh adds to stake in Andor holdings

CAVAN ENTREPRENEUR Eugene Murtagh has joined forces with Hugh Cormican, a founder of Northern Ireland specialist camera manufacturer Andor Technologies, which is currently the subject of a proposed management buyout, according to a filing with the London Stock Exchange last night.

Mr Murtagh, and his son Paul held a 3.77 per cent stake in the company through Carraig Capital. News of the Murtaghs’ stake first emerged at the end of July, a week after the company announced it was in “advanced” discussions with executives over a potential management buyout of the firm.

Last night, a statement to the London Stock Exchange said this holding had now “been aggregated” with that of Dr Cormican, a long-time managing director of Andor. Dr Cormican holds just under 9 per cent of Andor stock. Between them, they now hold 12.42 per cent of the shares in Andor.

Rule 8.3 (b) of the City Code on takeovers and mergers states: “Where two or more persons act pursuant to an agreement or understanding, whether formal or informal, to acquire an interest in relevant securities, they will be deemed to be a single person for the purpose of this Rule.”

The announcement that the two holdings are seen as related comes days after Dr Cormican was named chief executive of a US imaging technology firm Bioptics. The Arizona-based firm has several Irish investors. It operates in a business close to that of Andor. It designs, manufactures and markets X-ray sensor technology.

Eugene Murtagh is synonymous with building material group Kingspan, which he founded and which is now run by his son Gene. The family have diversified interests in recent years.

Andor chief executive Conor Walsh, who succeeded Dr Cormican, is leading the 73 pence per share MBO that would value the firm at £19.7 million. Before the approach, the company’s shares were trading around the 5p level. Last night they closed at 69.5p.

The company, which currently employs 190 staff, reported a 22 per cent jump in pre-tax profits to £803,000 for the first half of its financial year to the end of March last. Turnover grew 10 per cent year-on-year to £11.5 million in the period, while earnings per share were up 9 per cent to 2.57p.

Neither Carraig Capital nor Dr Cormican were last night available for comment.