The future of Greencore took on an uncertain air yesterday when it emerged that property developer Liam Carroll was the buyer of Dermot Desmond's 21.57 per cent stake in the company.
Mr Carroll's €170 million purchase was confirmed in a statement to the Irish Stock Exchange, prompting considerable speculation on his intentions for the company.
What is almost certain, however, is that the media-shy developer's primary interest in Greencore lies in the food firm's property portfolio.
Observers believe Mr Carroll will push as hard as possible to win control over the company's sites, the jewel of which is a 200-acre property in Carlow formerly occupied by Irish Sugar. His shareholding will provide him with considerable leverage in this regard, both in persuading Greencore to sell to him and in attempting to block any sale to another party.
Greencore did not comment on the development yesterday, but the company's board is likely to be awaiting Mr Carroll's next move with interest.
Some believe the developer, who is known for his deep pockets, may seek to increase his power by buying more shares in the company. Stock market takeover rules dictate that he will have to wait until next week if he wants to make an additional purchase.
If Mr Carroll, the man behind Zoe Developments, were to pass the 29.9 per cent level, he would be forced to bid for the company.
Sources said yesterday that, while he is likely to favour buying the sites and then exiting the share register, he would be prepared to go further and bid for Greencore in its entirety if he saw this as necessary. He bought Wednesday's stake through NCB's nominee account.
Shares in Greencore moved up by one cent to €4.08 yesterday, valuing the whole company at about €800 million.
This is substantially less than last year's €1.2 billion takeover of Jurys Doyle, the last listed company in which Mr Carroll took a large shareholding. In that instance, the developer entered the takeover process too late to gain control over any of the assets.
While making a bid for a food company might be a less-than-natural fit for a developer known for vigorous apartment construction, it would be likely that any such move would be closely followed by a sell-off of the firm's food operations.
Since Greencore ceased sugar production this year, the company's business has been based mostly in Britain. Any buyer could thus hive off the Irish property assets relatively cleanly and sell on the trading assets to an industry player.
The book value of Greencore's property portfolio is €40 million but this drastically underestimates the price experts believe it could reach on the open market.
A recent independent valuation put a value of €150 million on a rezoned Carlow site, with a further €30 million value put on another site at Mallow in Co Cork. Greencore also owns property in Thurles, Co Tipperary, and in Wellington Bridge, Co Wexford.
The firm's portfolio extends to Britain, including property in Littlehampton, near London's Gatwick Airport.
The company recently established a dedicated property division with the aim of considering ways of returning value to shareholders from surplus land.
Whatever Mr Carroll's plans, his move comes at an awkward time for Greencore, which is currently pushing for a large chunk of a €145 million EU compensation fund linked to the sugar exit.
