Denis O'Brien

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Denis O'Brien, (born April 19, 1958 in County Cork), is an Irish entrepreneur. A graduate of University College Dublin, O'Brien received an MBA in corporate finance from Boston College in 1982.

Contents

[edit] Cell phone entrepreneur

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In 1995, his bidding vehicle (Esat) was awarded the second Irish mobile phone licence, and in the late 1990s he sold the licence operator, Esat Digifone, to BT, netting himself €317 million.

The circumstances surrounding the award of the licence were the subject of a long running public tribunal in Ireland, the conclusions of which had not been published as of early 2007. In advance of the sale of Esat, O'Brien had changed his residence from the Republic of Ireland to Portugal, because the latter state does not levy tax on capital gains.

O'Brien's current investments include stakes in Digicel, which has 4 million mobile phone subscribers in the Caribbean, owning[citation needed] nearly 90% of the business. He owns technology companies, including IrishJobs.ie, as well as Communicorp Group Ltd. This is a European radio holding company[citation needed] which owns and operates radio stations in Ireland Dublin's 98FM, Spin 103.8, along with quasi national Talk Station Newstalk, Wicklow's East Coast FM.

[edit] Electricial Failure

On the first phase of de-regulation of the electricity supply industry in Ireland in the late 1990s, O'Brien established a company to sell electricity to large industrial and commercial electricity customers, having first bought electricity from the Electricity Supply Board. This venture was unsuccessful and closed in less than one year of operation.

[edit] Other interests

He was Chairman of the Special Olympics World Summer Games when they were held in Ireland in 2003.

In September 2005, O'Brien was named Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ireland despite being a tax exile, an appointment which caused disquiet in government and financial circles because of the Bank's central role in the Irish banking system. In September 2006, he resigned from this and all other directorships in Ireland, while simultaneously moving his residence from Portugal to Malta, for taxation reasons.

Denis O'Brien is also a member of the Bilderberg group and attended their recent meeting in Ottawa, Canada, from 8-11 June 2006.[1]

[edit] Tax exile

The Irish taxpayer received $19m from Mr O'Brien for the mobile phone license granted to ESAT, 4 years later he sold his company for $3 billion to British giant BT. Rumours of impropriety in the awarding of that license remain unproven but an imminent report from an Irish Tribunal looks to place a dark cloud over Mr O'Brien's former business dealings. O'Brien has frequently brought proceedings against the Moriarty Tribunal in the Irish High Court protesting at the way in which the Tribunal is conducting its inquiry. A tax exile, Mr O'Brien has been involved in a number of charitable causes.

[edit] Personal wealth

According to the Sunday Times Rich List 2006, Denis O'Brien net worth was €904 million (£615 million), the eight richest individual in the Irish rich list. An expected substantial flotation of Digicel on the New York Stock Exchange in 2006 did not materialize.[1].

[edit] Resignation day, September 12 2006

He resigned from the position of Deputy Governor Bank of Ireland, and also as a member of the Bank's board or court, on September 12, 2006[2]. He is also thought likely to step down as a director of the Smurfit Business School at University College Dublin and is expected to leave a number of other posts, including a directorship of Oakhill Group Plc.

These moves arising ahead of the publication of a report by the Moriarty Tribunal, which is investigating a series of complex transactions to find out whether O'Brien conferred any financial benefit on former cabinet minister Michael Lowry who was involved in awarding ESAT Digifone it's mobile phone license. The Bank of Ireland issued a statement describing his resignation to; " his growing international business interests together with the demands of an extensive travel schedule, meant that he could no longer devote the time required to the ever increasing workload of the court." [3].

[edit] Move to Malta

O'Brien has considered the flotation of Digicel on the New York Stock Exchange and he has taken up residence in Malta. Malta charges no tax on worldwide assets or income brought in by permanent residents[4]. Residence, for tax purposes, means renting or buying a property with a minumum value and visiting Malta at least once within one year of becoming a resident. Mr O'Brien has also resigned from the Norkom Group and the Smurfit Business School. His spokesman said the resignations were unconnected with the work of the Moriarty tribunal, which is looking at the awarding of a mobile phone licence to Esat. The tribunal is expected to publish a report in 2007.

O'Brien owns in excess of 87 per cent of the Digicel group, which is owned by way of Digicel Ltd based in Bermuda, another territory with an attractive capital gains tax regime.

He had been a tax resident of Portugal when he sold Esat Telcom in 2000 and this enabled him avoid Irish capital gains tax. Currently in March 2007, he is a resident of Malta for tax minimisation purposes.


[edit] References

  1. ^ "Sunday Times Rich List 2006", The Sunday Times. Retrieved on September 12, 2006.
  2. ^ "O'Brien leaves Bank of Ireland Court", RTÉ News, 2006-09-12.
  3. ^ Smyth, Sam. "Standing down has sparked speculation", Irish Independent, 2006-09-13.
  4. ^ "O'Brien makes pre-flotation move to Malta", The Irish Times, 2006-09-15.

[edit] See also

[edit] External link

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