John Moloney, a former managing director of Glanbia, has taken over as chairman of DCC, an energy-to-technologies conglomerate, where he replaces retiring former AIB chief executive Michael Buckley.

Mr Moloney's ascension to the chair yesterday came on the day the company announced it had agreed to sell its Robert Roberts and Kelkin food businesses to Valeo Foods, the owner of the Jacobs biscuit brand, for €60 million. The deal is subject to clearance from the Competition Authority.

Robert Roberts is best known for its coffee brand but the business also includes Findlaters, DCC's wine distribution arm, while Kelkin which specialises in health foods. The two businesses combined have sales of €120 million and generate about 80 per cent of the profits of DCC's food division.

DCC’s food division has under-performed in recent times compared to the rest of the group. Stamford Partners, a specialist food industry investment bank, was brought in to run a sale process, and Valeo was the last remaining potential bidder.

Food division

DCC is thought to be also seeking buyers for the remaining 20 per cent of its food division, including

Allied Foods

and a 50 per cent stake in Kylemore cafes. In January DCC sold the food service division of Allied Foods, which supplies frozen and chilled foods to fast-food outlets and other restaurants, to Musgrave Marketplace.

"Robert Roberts, Findlater Wine & Spirits and Kelkin have a long and successful history in the Irish market and we expect them to continue to grow and develop under Valeo Foods' ownership," said Tommy Breen, DCC's chief executive.

David O’Brien, an analyst with Goodbody stockbrokers, said the sale of the two businesses was “an attractive deal from DCC’s point of view and frees up both capital and management time to concentrate on the core businesses”.