CREDIT SUISSE Securities is believed to have sold its shares in Irish mineral exploration group Minco to Newry-based private investor Tom O'Gorman.
The Irish Timeshas learned that Mr O'Gorman paid about £364,000 (€460,000) earlier this week to buy Credit Suisse's seven million shares in Minco, which is listed on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) in London.
The deal is expected to be announced to the stock market before the weekend. Credit Suisse is one of Europe's largest institutional investors.
Mr O'Gorman, who has a large portfolio of investments in Irish exploration and mining companies, is now Minco's biggest shareholder, with a stake of just more than 6 per cent.
Mr O'Gorman is believed to have paid 5.2 pence a share to acquire Credit Suisse's stake in the company - a significant premium to its current share price level.
Minco's stock closed up 12 per cent in London yesterday at 3.5 pence as news of the transaction appeared to seep out. The shares had traded as high as 6 pence each in mid-March but have declined steadily since then.
It is not clear why Mr O'Gorman has paid a premium to acquire such a large stake in Minco. The company has two main prospects - a 23.6 per cent interest in the Pallas Green zinc project in Co Limerick and a significant stake in a zinc, lead and silver mine in Mexico.
Pallas Green is regarded as one of the best zinc exploration projects in Ireland, and Minco has set aside a budget of €1.4 million for drilling there in 2008. It is developing the Pallas Green project with Xstrata, the world's largest zinc producing company.
In Mexico, Minco's interest is held through a separate, Canada-based company called Orca Minerals. Minco has a majority shareholding in Orca, which recently raised $8.8 million Canadian dollars (€5.45 million) for drilling work in Mexico.
Minco management structure has also been overhauled in recent months. Roger Turner stepped down as chairman and chief executive after four years. John Kearney, a 35-year veteran of the mining industry, took over as executive chairman, with Terence McKillen appointed as chief executive.
On Tuesday, Minco announced the appointments of Bert-Ove Johansson, former managing director of Boliden Tara Mines in Meath, and Peter McParland, managing director of Navan-based Quarrying and Mining Equipment Ltd, as non-executive directors. It is understood Mr O'Gorman will not seek a place on Minco's board.
On June 30th, Minco posted pre-tax losses of €2.7 million in the year to the end of December, over twice that of the previous year. It had no revenue in either year.
