Financier Mr Dermot Desmond has consolidated his position as the biggest shareholder in Glasgow Celtic football club, after buying another two million shares in the market.
As a result, Mr Desmond's stake in Celtic's ordinary shares has risen from 14 per cent to 20.5 per cent, although his stake is potentially much larger under the terms of last year's convertible share issue, when Mr Desmond invested £10 million sterling (€16 million) in Celtic's £25 million share issue.
The two million ordinary shares he bought on Thursday would have cost him about £1 million sterling based on the current Celtic share price.
Mr Desmond's increased investment in Celtic comes less than a week after it emerged that he had met the chairman of the Football League in England, Mr Keith Harris, to discuss bringing Celtic to the English First Division, possibly as early as next season. Celtic's arch-rivals, Rangers, are also thought to favour a move to the English league although it is understood that Rangers itself has not had any direct discussions with the league.
The chances of Celtic and Rangers moving south of the border have improved as a result of the dire financial position of English football. English league clubs are in dispute with the collapsed ITV Digital over the repayment of £178.5 million owed for the remaining two seasons of their three-year deal to screen live games from the Nationwide divisions one, two and three.
The problems in England are mirrored by television difficulties in Scotland where the other 10 Scottish Premier League clubs have announced their intention to quit the league after Celtic and Rangers vetoed its own television proposal. The inclusion of Celtic and Rangers - two clubs with huge support - in the English first division would increase the English league's bargaining power in future television negotiations.
Such a move would have to overcome the opposition of UEFA, which is opposed to football clubs moving across national boundaries to other leagues. But industry sources believe that UEFA's objections can be overcome.
The latest developments follow a virtual freefall in the Celtic share price despite the club's continued success in the Scottish Premier League.
At the time of last year's £25 million convertible share issue, the ordinary shares were trading at 125p. Since then they have continued to spiral downwards and closed yesterday on 50p sterling. Three years ago, the same shares were trading as high as 320p sterling.
That convertible share issue saw Mr Desmond invest £10 million while Celtic's manager, Mr Martin O'Neill, invested £2 million. Other Irish investors included the owner of the Jordan motor racing team, Mr Eddie Jordan, telecoms entrepreneur Mr Denis O'Brien, former Alcatel president Mr Pearse Flynn and Elan vice-president Mr Tom Lynch.
That convertible share issue is extremely complex and the conversion terms are linked directly to the Celtic share price in five years' time. But even the one-for-one conversion would put Mr Desmond near to the 30 per cent stake where he would have to make a formal bid.
Two of Mr Desmond's closest associates, Mr J.P. McManus and Mr John Magnier, own just under 9 per cent of Manchester United after increasing their stake in October last year.
