THE QUINN Group paid €138 million to buy a wind farm business from family members, according to documents filed in the Companies Registration Office.

It is understood Quinn Windfarm Holdings was bought some time in 2007, although a spokesman for the Quinn Group would not comment on the matter.

Filings in the Companies Office for the Quinn holding company Quinn Group (ROI) Ltd show its shareholders voted to allow for the transaction. Under company law, the purchase of assets of certain values from a director or persons connected to a director of the purchasing company must be approved by a resolution at a general meeting.

A written resolution was recently filed, stating that the shareholders had approved the purchasing arrangement in May 2008.

The acquired company was owned by way of a Swedish-registered company, Quinn Investments Sweden. It was bought by a Quinn Group subsidiary, Quinn Property Holdings Ltd.

Quinn Windfarm Holdings was incorporated in November 2006 and its only accounts on file are the consolidated accounts for the Quinn Group for the year to end September 2007. The accounts say the group operates a 67.54 megawatt wind farm at Derrylynn, Co Fermanagh.

The Quinn group website says one of its divisions, Quinn Energy, runs wind farms at Derrylynn and near Ballyconnell, Co Cavan.

A number of Irish-registered companies with the words Quinn Energy in the name are owned by companies based in Sweden, according to their filings. The companies are ultimately owned by the Quinn family, according to the filings.

The Quinn Group is one of the largest privately owned businesses in Ireland, incorporating insurance, manufacturing, hospitality, property and energy divisions.

This week the founder of the group, Seán Quinn, said the family had lost about €1 billion from investments in Anglo Irish Bank by way of contracts for difference.