A round-up of today's other business stories in brief.

Consortium buys stake in 'Irish Echo'

A consortium of Irish and Irish-American businessmen have taken a majority shareholding in the New York-based Irish Echo newspaper.

The group is believed to have paid about $3 million (€2.25 million) for the shareholding and intends to invest significantly in the title. Former GAA president Peter Quinn put the consortium together after he heard that the newspaper's owner, Seán Finlay, might be interested in a sale. Mr Finlay remains a significant minority shareholder and a company director.

Mr Quinn said the group saw potential to increase the newspaper's penetration in the New York market and to move outside the city.

The new investors also hope to build on the existing readership base. The weekly newspaper has a circulation of about 20,000.

IN&M investors to vote on rule changes

Investors in Independent News & Media (IN&M) will vote today on resolutions which will empower the group to closely monitor any further accumulation of shares by businessman Denis O'Brien, who has attacked its record on corporate governance. The resolution will come before an emergency general meeting, immediately after the group's annual general meeting in Belfast today.

It was unclear last night whether Mr O'Brien would attend the meetings. IN&M has rejected in strong terms his criticism of its corporate governance and threatened defamation proceedings if no apology is forthcoming.

Signature Capital buys Berlin store

Property investment company Signature Capital has bought a department store building in Berlin for €61.3 million.

The building houses the Galleria Kaufhof store. It is let on a long lease to Kaufhof Warenhaus, which is part of Metro Group, Germany's biggest retailer.

The acquisition brings the value of Signature's German portfolio to €400 million.

The company recently raised cash to fund the purchase of commercial property in Germany. It said this was oversubscribed, with investors signing up for "well in excess" of the €50 million target.

Kingspan director sells 2.4m shares

Insulation and building materials specialist Kingspan confirmed to the stock market yesterday that co-founder and director Brendan Murtagh had sold 2.4 million shares in the company, one-third of his total stake.

He sold the shares on Monday at €20.50 each, for a total of €48 million. His remaining stake stands at just over five million units, or 3 per cent of the group.

Wavin to buy distribution firm

Wavin Ireland is set to buy distribution company O'Brien Marketing for an undisclosed sum. Based in Co Cork, O'Brien has a turnover of €5 million and distributes pipes and other products under the Hep20 and Irish Acorn brands.

Glanbia forecasts double-digit growth

Food group Glanbia yesterday reiterated its forecast for "good double-digit growth" this year. The forecast was contained in slides shown by managing director John Moloney during a Dublin conference and mirrors the outlook given at its annual general meeting almost a month ago. - (Reuters)

Waste firm signs deal with Dunnes

A Co Meath-based waste collection company, Panda Waste, has secured a deal to collect cardboard and plastics from Dunnes Stores sites, creating up to 16 jobs.