Ireland's great media war - between Independent News & Media's chairman and chief executive Gavin O'Reilly and telecoms tycoon Denis O'Brien - continues apace.
An INM spokesman was a reported in yesterday's Sunday Business Post as saying: "Denis O'Brien is clearly trying to take control of this company and if he wants control of it, then he should make a bid."
It was a response to the leaking of details contained in a letter sent by O'Brien in July to the INM chairman, Brian Hillery, in which he demanded that O'Reilly be replaced.
O'Brien, who is INM's biggest shareholder with a stake of almost 22%, said the company's existence was under threat.
In the letter, O'Brien said he wanted radical change at INM, claiming that €2bn of shareholder value had been wiped out and that O'Reilly did not have the confidence of the market as chief executive.
At a subsequent meeting with Hillery, O'Brien also demanded the reinstatement to the INM board of his business associate, Leslie Buckley. In June, Buckley was voted off the board by shareholders.
The INM spokesman said O'Brien's agitation for the reinstatement of Buckley was clearly "in the face of the express wishes of the other shareholders in the company who had voted him off".
Last week, O'Brien acquired a 1.3% direct shareholding in the Australia-based media group APN News Media, in which INM holds a 30.96% stake.
It is not clear why O'Brien made the play. He has spoken positively in the past about APN and its operations, and he opposed moves by INM to offload its stake. APN is also chaired by O'Reilly.
Sources: Sunday Business Post/Irish Times/RTE
