After all the wrangling at Dunloe Ewart, the main protagonists have done very well out of their investment in the property group.
Mr Paschal Taggart tops the list for most money made over the shortest period of time. His involvement with the company began just a fortnight ago when he agreed to acquire Mr Noel Smyth's 26 per cent stake at a price of 45 cents per share.
Selling that on to Mr Liam Carroll at 50 cents per share leaves him sitting on a profit of at least €5 million although he has incurred both interest and advisory costs in acquiring the shareholding. "I'm happy it's resolved," Mr Taggart said of Dunloe last night.
Mr Dermot Desmond has also made a handsome return from his investment in the stock.
Shortly after Mr Smyth's 42.5 cent per share offer for the company, launched on October 25th, he declared he held around 7.8 per cent of Dunloe, which would have been acquired at or below 40 cents per share.
He subsequently purchased a further 9 per cent of the company, at prices between 43 cents and 45 cents per share. He should have made at least €1.75 million on that portion of his holding alone.
An even bigger windfall was probably realised by Mr Phil Monahan whose 6.7 per cent stake is understood to have been assembled at less than 30 cents per share.
Last night, a spokesman for the Monahan family said the latest developments were positive.
"It's good for us and it's good for the smaller shareholders who have got a good return," he said.
Some may see Mr Smyth as the loser in the whole affair as he is exiting the company he has built up in recent years.
But to cushion the blow, he realised €30 million through the sale of his stake to Mr Taggart last week.
His bid for the company in October played a crucial part in breaking the logjam that had developed at the company and providing an exit mechanism for small shareholders.
What plans Mr Carroll has for Dunloe, other than to cancel its listings and take it private, remain to be seen.
But given that he is paying around €135 million for the 70 per cent of the company he doesn't own, he must be confident of earning a return from developing the company's assets.
