Galway-based businessman John Sweeney is to acquire Topaz Energy's 50 per cent shareholding in a joint venture oil business in the west of Ireland.
It is understood Mr Sweeney will pay about €12 million to take full control of Fate Park, a Galway-based company involved in the wholesale and retail distribution of oil in Connaught.
Fate Park was originally set up as a 50-50 joint venture with Norwegian multinational Statoil, which sold its Irish forecourt operation to Topaz last year.
Mr Sweeney, an investor in the redevelopment of the Shelbourne Hotel, was an underbidder to Topaz in the race to acquire both Statoil and the Shell network of petrol stations.
Topaz is led by chairman Neil O'Leary of Ion Equity and backed by telecoms tycoon Denis O'Brien and hotelier Gerry Barrett.
Latest accounts for Fate Park show it posted a pre-tax profit of €426,517 in the year to the end of December 2005. This represented a decline of 30 per cent on the €607,641 pre-tax profit recorded the previous year. Turnover in the same timeframe rose by 20 per cent to €92.9 million. Its cost of sales, however, rose by 28 per cent to €86.1 million.
Fate Park had accumulated profits of €990,505 at the end of 2005 while its net assets were €2.2 million. No dividend was paid to shareholders in 2005. Its staff numbers rose from 73 to 84 in 2005.
It is understood that Topaz will continue to supply fuel to the Galway-based company. Fate Park's accounts show that it acquired €65.4 million worth of goods from Statoil in 2005.
The accounts also show that Fate Park acquired Donegal-based Finn Valley Oil (Liscooley) in 2006 to extend its coverage in the region.
Mr Sweeney's 50 per cent interest in the business is held by Black Shore, a company that comprises his oil, hotel and property interests. Black Shore trebled its profits in the year to the end of February 2006 to €6.33 million.
In November, Topaz sold Statoil's 50 per cent interest in East Cork Oil to the Midleton-based company's founder Des Hurley.
It is thought to have netted about €20 million from the deal.
