Quinn seeks to buy empire back and Google eyes up Boland’s Mills

Seen & Heard: what it says in the Sunday papers

Sean Quinn at his cement plant at Derrylin in 1991. Photograph: Jack McManus
Sean Quinn at his cement plant at Derrylin in 1991. Photograph: Jack McManus

The Sunday Business Post reports that former billionaire Sean Quinn has held talks with accounting firm Mazars about how to buy back his former industrial holdings empire. The private equity-owned business, incorporating his former cement and plastics businesses, is valued at up to €150 million. ****

The same paper says Google is expected to be among the bidders for the historic Boland's Mills site in Dublin's docklands, which is expected to come on to the market in a Nama-backed sale in the near future, the Post reports. The site is adjacent to Google's main Dublin campus, and could fetch about €11 million with an estimated €10 million needed to revamp the buildings.

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Also in The Sunday Business Post, Pat McCann, the chief executive of Dalata Hotel Group, has indicated it may reconsider its Calyton brand's sponsorship of George Hook's Newstalk radio show after the presenter made controversial remarks suggesting female rape victims must bear some responsibility for putting themselves in danger.

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The Sunday Times reports that Dalata will create 600 jobs over the next year as it expands its operations. Mr McCann told the paper that if the company was a multinational, Ministers and IDA Ireland would be giving him "big hugs".

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Analysts fear that plans by Permanent TSB to sell off its bad loans could cost it €600 million and require it to return to the stock market for additional capital, says The Sunday Times. Investec estimates that PTSB's shares could be worth as little as 65 cents.

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Titanic Belfast developer Pat Doherty's Harcourt Developments is teaming up with Nama to build 500 houses and apartments in west Dublin, The Sunday Independent reports. It has applied for fast-track planning permission for the proposed scheme at Saggart.

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The same newspaper says San Leon chief executive Oisín Fanning earned a salary last year that was five times the listed exploration company’s revenue. Mr Fanning earned €1.7 million, while San Leon’s revenue was just €342,000.

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The Sunday Telegraph reports that Google will this week launch an appeal against a €2.4 billion search-engine monopoly abuse fine from the European Commission. The paper reports that Google, which faces further fines over its Android software and its advertising network, will extend the seven-year-old row with the commission.