INM dispute makes the headlines

It’s a dispute that dates back two years, but only now is the true scale and far-reaching implications of one of the Republic’s most extraordinary corporate disputes being pulled from the shadows.

In dribs and drabs this week, the saga that is Independent News and Media's 2016 bid to buy radio station Newstalk and the subsequent fallout has been revealed in a large High Court affidavit filed by the State's corporate watchdog Ian Drennan.

Former INM chairman Leslie Buckley fell out with his chief executive Robert Pitt over the price to acquire Newstalk, the national radio station owned by businessman Denis O'Brien, who is also INM's biggest shareholder.

Buckley is a long-time associate of O’Brien and was his representative on the board of INM as chairman.

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Drennan claims Buckley wanted to “reward” O’Brien for his having “bailed out” the media giant years before.

The watchdog also claims Buckley said the valuation obtained by INM for Newstalk was “insulting” to O’Brien.

Valuations ranging from €10 million to €35 million were considered. Directors of publicly listed companies are obliged to act on behalf of all shareholders, not just those with the biggest stake.

Then there’s the data breach. The Data Protection Commissioner is looking into the matter, which dates back to 2014 when information on INM’s server was copied and provided to IT specialists outside the group.

Some 19 “persons of interest” were the focus of the breach, including journalists, senior counsel for the Moriarty tribunal, and an individual connected to Cable and Wireless, which is the biggest competitor to O’Brien’s telco Digicel.

This data is said to have been taken out of the jurisdiction and “interrogated” by at least six companies. It emerged last weekend, in an affidavit by Drennan, that an Isle of Man company connected with O’Brien paid the bill for this to occur, and that it was facilitated by Buckley.

When all this began to come to light in 2016, INM moved to conduct a review. However, the barrister appointed to carry it out was changed following an intervention by O’Brien, who raised concerns that he was acting against him in a separate case, according to Drennan’s affidavit.

O’Brien texted Buckley to “avoid if possible” when told that the board was to appoint Brian O’Moore SC. “Is against me in a case Declan Ganley and Comcast are taking re mob licence,” the affidavit claims that he said.

House price increases slow

The State is a hive of activity following the zombie-like days of the recession.

Figures from data group Vision-net show the fast-growing Irish economy saw 62 companies formed every day in the first quarter of 2018, while the rate of insolvencies fell by nearly 40 per cent.

The Government’s tax revenues were marginally below target for the first quarter of 2018 because of softer-than-expected income tax receipts. Corporation tax was 2.3 per cent below target.

In commercial property, a new plan to develop a 211-bedroom hotel on the former Jurys hotel site has been lodged with Dublin City Council – some 60 bedrooms more than originally planned.

On the housing front, prices nationally are continuing to rise but at a slower rate due to tighter bank lending and “stretched affordability in Dublin”. They rose 9.5 per cent year on year in the first quarter of 2018, down from 10.2 per cent in the previous quarter.

That's according to MyHome.ie, which is owned by The Irish Times, which said there were indications of a pick-up in supply in Dublin with 20 per cent more properties listed for sale than this time last year.

Meanwhile, planning permission was granted for 758 homes. Cork developer Michael O’Flynn got the nod for 608 in Glanmire, while a company connected with private equity group Lone Star got the green light for 152 in Portmarnock, Co Dublin.

Elsewhere, Irish building contractor Sammon was pushed into examinership following the collapse of UK construction giant Carillion. Sammon employs 216 people and is involved in several building projects to develop educational facilities across the State.

Kerry Group bucks UK gender pay gap trend

Companies with more than 250 employees in the UK were this week compelled to publish figures outlining their gender pay gaps, with low budget airline Ryanair among the worst for parity with a 67 per cent chasm.

A couple of other notables include Bank of Ireland, where the gap is 35.7 per cent; Paddy Power Betfair, where it’s 26.7 per cent; while Kerry Group bucked the trend, paying women fractionally more than men.

In the Republic, draft legislation aimed at reducing the gender pay gap is expected to be initiated by the Government before the summer recess and could be far stronger than that recently enacted in the UK.

Trump ups ante in trade skirmishes with China

US president Donald Trump’s tussle with Chinese premier Xi Jinping heated up this week as that full-blown trade war we’ve been hearing about became something of a reality.

On Tuesday, Washington proposed 25 per cent tariffs on more than 1,300 Chinese industrial and other products from flat-panel televisions to electronic components.

Beijing shot back 11 hours later with a list of proposed duties on $50 billion of American imports, including soybeans, aircraft, cars, beef and chemicals.

On Thursday, Trump directed trade officials another $100 billion in tariffs on Chinese imports, upping the ante in an already high-stakes trade confrontation between the world’s two largest economies.

Trump said the move was being taken “in light of China’s unfair retaliation” earlier.