A LUXEMBOURG holding company, in which financier Paul Coulson has a large minority interest, spent €8.2 million on the acquisition of a 39.3 per cent stake in his Ardagh Glass group, a business with annual operating profits of €93 million and revenues of more than €1.3 billion
Recent filings to the Luxembourg companies registry show that the transfer of the stake in Ardagh, which Mr Coulson controls, took place last year when Mr Coulson reorganised his business empire.
They provide some insight into the companies behind Ardagh, which claims 18 per cent of the European glass container market after its €660 million buyout last year of the European glass unit in British group Rexam.
Mr Coulson held a 32.8 per cent stake in a little-known quoted vehicle called Yeoman International Holding, which was delisted from the Luxembourg stock exchange in July 2007. In 2006 he realised €9.95 million when the company bought back shares from investors and cancelled them.
The portfolio of investments held by Yeoman International Holdings, including its Ardagh shares, was sold for €19.8 million after the delisting to a privately-held company called Yeoman Capital, which was established in Luxembourg last September to manage the assets in question.
The beneficiaries of this transaction sale were Mr Coulson and his family, who became the sole owners of Yeoman International Holdings after other investors were bought out in share buyback last summer. They then renamed the company as Balholm Investments.
Shareholders in Yeoman International Holding who wished to retain an interest in its assets were invited to invest in Yeoman Capital. Balholm subsequently subscribed for shares in Yeoman Capital and held 34.2 per cent of that company last May.
Accounts for Yeoman Capital show that the company acquired its Ardagh stake at a value of €8.3 million, a holding that comprises 54 per cent of its investment portfolio.
Citing the successful integration of the Rexam assets with Ardagh, the accounts say that the business recovered substantial cost increases and delivered improved margins.
"The improved earnings outlook has undoubtedly had a very substantial impact on the equity value of Ardagh Glass and the value of Yeoman's holding in Ardagh Glass is substantially greater than the value at which it is carried in these financial statements," the accounts state.
There is no further comment on the value of the company's holding in Ardagh. A spokesman for Mr Coulson declined to comment. In addition to the Yeoman Capital stake, Mr Ardagh has a major personal stake in Ardagh. Staff and senior management also own shares in the business.
Yeoman Capital acquired shares in green cement business Ecocem for €6.3 million when the assets were transferred. Later it sold most of its holding for €5.5 million, or €200,000 more than than the transfer valuation.
"Most of the proceeds were returned to shareholders," the accounts state.
The company retains a "small holding" in Ecocem, carrying a value of €1 million.
Yeoman Capital acquired development assets in Poland from Yeoman International Holdings at a value of €4.4 million. Other assets acquired included a 35.7 per cent interest in "DNA traceability" firm Identigen and a small investment in technology funds for a total of €1.3 million.
