A FRENCH company has claimed it was denied the opportunity to make an offer for Irish company Siteserv which businessman Denis O’Brien is poised to acquire this week for €45 million.
The Altrad group, which owns companies in the same areas of business as Siteserv, said at the weekend that it had been prepared to offer €60 million for the Irish firm. But it was effectively denied the opportunity because its representative was told the Irish group was not for sale.
Siteserv is a listed company that provides construction services such as scaffolding and hoarding to industries including utilities, oil refineries, satellite and telecommunications, and infrastructure for outdoor events.
Its shareholders will be asked next Thursday to approve an agreement to sell the group to an investment vehicle controlled by Mr O’Brien for just over €45 million.
Shareholders, including chief executive Brian Harvey, Chris Neate and John Neal, will make €5 million from the deal, but the State-owned Irish Banking Resolution Corporation (IBRC – formerly Anglo Irish) will get just €40 million of the €150 million owed to it by the company.
Ray Neilson, a senior manager with Altrad, said he emailed Mr Harvey “four times”, between last year and shortly before the deal was agreed with Mr O’Brien. He said he was told the firm was not for sale.
On January 16th, Siteserv issued a statement indicating it was exploring “strategic and corporate options” for discussion with IBRC. Its debts to the bank are due for repayment by the end of this year.
Mr Neilson said he was aware of the announcement. But when he contacted the company after its publication in January he was told it was released to counter media speculation. Since the deal was announced, he has been in touch with the IBRC.
Altrad, owned by Dr Mohed Altrad, who also owns Montpellier rugby club in France where he is based, says it is debt-free with several hundred million euro to spend on acquisitions. The company, which has operations in Britain and France, bought two businesses in England last week – Generation UK and MTD.
Siteserv and Mr Harvey did not comment on Altrad’s claims.
The Irish company’s advisers, stockbroking firm Davy and KPMG, began seeking buyers for the group around Christmas. After canvassing likely bidders, they received 12 expressions of interest. The advisers narrowed this down to two.
The offer from Millington, which Mr O’Brien controls, was the best and the deal, subject to shareholder approval, was agreed in mid-March.
The company took this route as its €15 million cash flow would not have been enough to clear its debt. It was also adamant it did not want to sell some of its operations, but preferred a “big bang” solution. The IBRC did not comment on Altrad’s claims at the weekend. A spokesman for Mr O’Brien also declined to comment.
