Denis O'Brien

For other people of the same name, see Dennis O'Brien (disambiguation).

Denis O'Brien (born 19 April 1958 in County Cork) is an Irish businessman with international connections. An Arts graduate of University College Dublin, O'Brien has received a MBA in corporate finance from Boston College in 1982,^[1] and was later given an honorary doctorate by University College Dublin.^{[2][clarification needed]}

O'Brien has involvement with various communications companies at national and international level. He set up and chaired the Esat Digifone consortium which won a mobile phone licence in the 1990s in what would become controversial circumstances despite claims to this day that theirs was the best bid.^[3] The Moriarty Tribunal found that in its opinion it was almost beyond doubt that his winning of the contract was due to payments he made to Michael Lowry, the then communications minister, who unduly influenced the bidding process. The whole conduct of this Tribunal has been strongly criticised for its propensity to accept gossip as fact.^[4] It was the winning of this contract that formed the basis of his fortune. He established Digicel, a major telecoms provider in the Caribbean. O'Brien formed Communicorp Group Ltd in 1989, with the company currently owning 42 radio stations in 8 European countries, including Ireland's Newstalk, Today FM, Dublin's 98 (formerly 98FM), Spin 1038 and Spin South West.

In addition, O'Brien has founded the international commercial aircraft company Aergo Capital Limited - registered in Dublin, with offices in Nairobi, Singapore, Santiago and Johannesburg. He is a leading shareholder in both Sterling Energy and in Sir Anthony O'Reilly's Independent News & Media (IN&M). He is a resident of Malta, having moved there for tax purposes after previously living in Portugal, also for tax purposes.

Career

Mobile phone entrepreneur

In 1995, O'Brien set up and chaired the Esat Digifone consortium which submitted a bid for the second Irish GSM mobile phone license. Esat Digifone's bid defeated five other applicants, some of whom included major international operators, in controversial circumstances which became the subject of investigation by the Moriarty Tribunal..^[5] The Esat Digifone consortium was 40% owned by O'Brien's interests, 40% owned by Telenor, the Norwegian state telecoms operator, with the balance being owned by International Investment and Underwriting (IIU), an investment vehicle owned by Dermot Desmond.

On 7 November 1997, Esat Telecom Group plc held an initial public offering and was listed on the Irish Stock Exchange, London Stock Exchange, and NASDAQ Stock Markets. In 1999, difficulties arose between O'Brien and Telenor over how Esat Digifone should be operated.^{[citation needed]} Telenor attempted to remove O'Brien as chairman of Esat Digifone and remove the Esat name from the company.^{[citation needed]} Esat retaliated by threatening to sue Telenor, and offered to buy out the Norwegian company.^{[citation needed]} Eventually, in November 1999, Telenor bid for the entire share capital of Esat Telecom Group plc as a way of resolving the situation. The bid was rejected by the Esat board and so became a hostile takeover attempt. In order to defend against the takeover, British Telecommunications plc (now BT Group plc) made a friendly takeover offer^{[citation needed]} for the company in January 2000, which was backed by the Esat board. Esat became a wholly owned subsidiary of BT and was delisted from the stock market. O'Brien personally netted €317 million from the sale.^[6]

After exiting the Irish mobile phone market, O'Brien started to compete for mobile phone licenses in the Caribbean through his company Digicel.^[7] Digicel now has in excess of eleven million mobile phone subscribers in the Caribbean, Central America and Pacific.^[7] He set up a new subsidiary Digicel Group Ltd. and via a bonds issue, acquired the entire holding of Digicel Limited.^{[citation needed]} O'Brien is involved in the Pacific with operations in Samoa, Vanuatu, Fiji, Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea^[8]

As the owner of Haiti's largest telecom company, Digicel, O'Brien pledged an immediate €3.5 million of his money to assist desperate Haitians within hours of the 2010 Haiti earthquake.^[9] Two of Digicel's 900 staff members in Haiti died in the earthquake.^[10] Digicel is Haiti's largest single investor.^[11] Digicel's headquarters was one of the few buildings in the region to survive unharmed.^[12] He was appointed goodwill ambassador for Port-au-Prince by the city's mayor and deputy mayor in recognition of his efforts to rebuild Haiti and attract foreign direct investment in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake on January 12th, and on behalf of the Clinton Global Initiative. He is Chairman of the Haiti Action Network, which coordinates the activities of approximately 80 support organisations in Haiti.^[11] Most recently, Denis O'Brien reconstructed the iconic Iron Market in Haiti's capital Port-Au-Prince, which was the first public building in the city to be rebuilt since the earthquake and has become a symbol of the city's recovery.^[13]

Involvement in the Moriarty Tribunal

The Moriarty Tribunal's second and final report found that Michael Lowry, the then energy and communications minister in Ireland, assisted Denis O'Brien in his bid to secure a mobile phone contract for Esat Digifone, a key foundation of Mr O'Brien's personal wealth. The tribunal found that this happened after Lowry received a $50,000 payment from O'Brien via a circuitous route involving a complex arrangement of third parties and offshore accounts. It said that it was “beyond doubt” that Mr Lowry gave “substantive information to Denis O'Brien, of significant value and assistance to him in securing the [mobile] licence” during at least two meetings between the two.^[14]

Denis O'Brien has rejected the findings set out in the Moriarty Tribunal report calling it "fundamentally flawed" as it is based on the opinions and theories of Mr Justice Moriarty and his legal team.^[15] Mr O’Brien said Mr Justice Moriarty had admitted to making “two not insignificant errors” and that these had been used to substantiate false theories. “I believe it is unprecedented in the history of this country that a High Court judge would make such fundamental errors which went to the heart of the credibility and integrity of a tribunal process,” Mr O’Brien said. Mr O’Brien said it was “incumbent on the judiciary to investigate the conduct of Mr Justice Moriarty and the tribunal legal team for the manner in which they conducted themselves”.^[16]

On 15 October 2011, Today FM confirmed Sam Smyth's Sunday radio show was being dropped. He had been presenting it for 14 years. Smyth had previously offended his bosses by commenting in a newspaper and on television about Today FM owner's Denis O'Brien's involvement in the Moriarty Tribunal. Smyth said on air the next morning that he had been told not to talk about the end of his show and stopped one of his guests from talking about it too "before someone comes downstairs and pulls a wire we better move onto something else."^[17] The National Union of Journalists (NUJ) said it was concerned at the development.^[18] The Irish Independent, of which Denis O'Brien is a leading shareholder, reported that Anton Savage was being lined up to replace Sam Smyth.^[19]

Radio entrepreneur

Communicorp Group Ltd was formed by O'Brien in 1989. The Group's radio operations launched in Ireland in the same year and followed with stations in the Czech Republic in 1992. Based in Dublin, Ireland, Communicorp is a major player in the Irish media market.^{[citation needed]}

The company now owns 42 radio stations in 8 countries across Europe, including Ireland: Today FM, Dublin's 98 (Formerly 98FM), Newstalk, Spin 1038 and Spin South West.^{[citation needed]}

O'Brien was the highest bidder for the Irish operations of Emap, which added Today FM, FM104 and Highland Radio to their control, but due to a competition authority decision, Communicorp was required to sell-on FM104 and Highland Radio.^{[citation needed]}

Aircraft leasing

In 1999, Denis O'Brien founded Aergo Capital Limited - registered in Dublin, with offices in Nairobi, Singapore, Santiago and Johannesburg. It owns and operates a fleet of 103 commercial aircraft. The company is valued at $250 Million USD and has debts in the region of $166 Million USD.^{[citation needed]} O'Brien controls about 83% of Aergo and, along with his father, sits on the company's 6 strong board. Aergo Capital's clients include Alitalia, Jet Airways, South African Airways, KLM and DHL. In July 2008, Aergo acquired the Safair aircraft-leasing division of Imperial Holdings for €110 Million. Aergo will take over the division's 33 planes and will lease a further nine aircraft from the parent company.^{[citation needed]}

Sterling Energy

Denis O'Brien is a shareholder in AIM-listed Sterling Energy. The company has production in the United States and a wide portfolio of exploration interests, mostly in West Africa.^{[citation needed]}

Media shareholding

In January 2006, O'Brien took a stake in Tony O'Reilly's Independent News & Media (IN&M). As of 25 March 2008, he holds 175,053,996 ordinary shares of €0.30, which represents 22.15% of the total number of voting shares of the company.^[20] This compares to O'Reilly's family stake of 28.2%. At the beginning of June 2007, O'Reilly tabled a resolution to strengthen rules on the disclosure of beneficial interests.^{[citation needed]} This was regarded as a defensive measure that would empower IN&M to monitor any additional accumulation of shares in the company. The resolution passed and empowers IN&M to withhold dividends from investors who do not comply with a request for information on the ownership of a holding of shares.^{[citation needed]}

O'Brien, speaking on RTÉ Radio, described the resolution as a "retrograde" measure, saying that the resolution was designed to protect the interests of O'Reilly's family against a hostile bidder.^[21]

Other interests

O'Brien was Chairman of the 2003 Special Olympics World Summer Games on the occasion when the games were held in Ireland, and on the U.S. Board of Concern Worldwide.

In September 2005, O'Brien was named Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ireland. Simultaneously, he moved his residence from Portugal to Malta, for tax avoidance reasons. He resigned from the position of Deputy Governor Bank of Ireland, and also as a member of the Bank's board or court, on 12 September 2006.^[22] The Bank of Ireland issued a statement describing his resignation as due 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."^[23] O'Brien has also resigned from the Norkom Group and the UCD Smurfit School of Business. His spokesman said that the resignations were unconnected with the work of the Moriarty Tribunal.^{[citation needed]}

O'Brien is also a member of the Bilderberg group.^{[24][dead link]}

On 13 February 2008, the chief executive of the Football Association of Ireland, John Delaney, confirmed that O'Brien had agreed to part fund the wages of the Irish football manager Giovanni Trapattoni.^[25]

In 2011, he provided money for the campaign of Mary Davis ahead of the Irish presidential election.^[26]

Personal wealth

According to the Forbes Magazine (March 2009), O'Brien has made himself a fortune of $2.2 billion.^[27]

Move to Malta

O'Brien had 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.^[28] Residence, for tax purposes, means renting or buying a property with a minimum value and visiting Malta at least once within one year of becoming a resident.^{[citation needed]}

See also

• Dublin's 98
• East Coast FM
• Digicel

References

1. ^ "Shareholder and media magnate welcomes Gavin O'Reilly as CEO". Independent.ie. 14-03-09. http://www.independent.ie/business/irish/shareholder-and-media-magnate-welcomes-gavin-oreilly-as-ceo-1672868.html. Retrieved 24 June 2011. 
2. ^ Education Hercules.com
3. ^ Lucy Gaffney, “Sunday Business Post”, “We won because our was simply the best bid”, Sunday, March 27th 2011
4. ^ John Walters, "Irish Times", "14 Years and a Whole Lot of Idle Gossip", March 25th 2011
5. ^ Court action on the awarding of the license by the Persona grouping has been signaled.
6. ^ Russell, Jonathan (March 22nd, 2011). "Denis O'Brien 'paid minister to help secure Irish phone licence'". Daily Telegraph. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/mediatechnologyandtelecoms/media/8399790/Denis-OBrien-paid-minister-to-help-secure-Irish-phone-licence.html. Retrieved March 24, 2011. 
7. ^ ^{a b} Keena, Colm (July 10th, 2010). "Plucky David or pirate of the Caribbean?". Irish Times. http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/weekend/2010/0710/1224274381817.html. Retrieved March 25, 2011. 
8. ^ Digicel
9. ^ Patricia McDonagh and Jason O'Brien, Irish Independent, "O'Brien pledges €3.5m as charities plead for money", Thursday January 14, 2010
10. ^ Jamie Smyth, The Irish Times, "All Irish citizens in area alive and well, says Foreign Affairs", Thursday January 14, 2010
11. ^ ^{a b} "Haiti names Denis O’Brien goodwill ambassador". 19.02.2010, Silicon Republic.
12. ^ Conor Kane, Irish Independent, "Family's relief at 'miraculous' escape of Irish worker", Thursday January 14, 2010
13. ^ [Ed Vulliamy, [1], “How an Irish telecoms tycoon became Haiti's only hope of salvation”, Sunday January 9, 2011
14. ^ "Moriarty says Lowry helped O'Brien win mobile licence" March 22, 2011, Irish Times
15. ^ "O'Brien hits out at 'fundamentally flawed' Moriarty Tribunal" 22 March 2011, Ireland Breaking News
16. ^ [Juno McEnroe, [2], “Billionaire denies paying former minister ‘one red cent’, Wednesday, March 23, 2011]
17. ^ "Today FM’s Smyth changes topic during discussion about his own sacking". thejournal.ie, 16 October 2011.
18. ^ Taylor, Charlie. "Smyth show to end on Today FM", The Irish Times, 16 October 2011.
19. ^ Quinlan, Ronald. "Savage to replace dropped Smyth on Today FM slot", Irish Independent, 16 October 2011.
20. ^ "O'Brien increases INM shareholding to 22.15%" March 25, 2008, Irish Independent
21. ^ "O'Brien branded a 'dissident' and accused of destabilising company" March 28, 2008, Irish Independent
22. ^ "O'Brien leaves Bank of Ireland Court". RTÉ News. 12 September 2006. http://www.rte.ie/news/2006/0912/boi-business.html. 
23. ^ Smyth, Sam (13 September 2006). "Standing down has sparked speculation". Irish Independent. http://www.unison.ie/irish_independent/stories.php3?ca=9&si=1686985&issue_id=14635. 
24. ^ http://www.lonelantern.org/images/bilderberglist2006.jpg
25. ^ "Billionaire fan part-paying Trapattoni's wages" February 13, 2008, ESPN
26. ^ "Campaigns to cost up to €350,000, say candidates". The Irish Times. 1 October 2011. http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2011/1001/1224305088913.html. Retrieved 1 October 2011. 
27. ^ "The World's Billionaires" March 11, 2009, Forbes Magazine
28. ^ "O'Brien makes pre-flotation move to Malta". The Irish Times. 15 September 2006. http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/front/2006/0915/1158271559252.html. 

External links

• Profile of Denis O'Brien at Digicel web site
• "Don't Worry, Be Happy" Article in Forbes - March 2007

Persondata
Name	Obrien, Denis
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Date of birth	19 April 1958
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