Former billionaire Sean Quinn is set to take a consultancy role with the company that has taken over his former manufacturing empire.
A group of Quinn’s former executives are part of a consortium that has acquired the factories Mr Quinn lost control of three years ago when his business portfolio imploded after a failed high-stakes share deal involving the former Anglo Irish Bank left him bankrupt.
Aventas Manufacturing Group took over many of the Quinn businesses along the Irish border after the group was put in receivership.
A €100m euro deal has seen Aventas sell to the new consortium assets including manufacturing operations in Derrylin, Co Fermanagh, and Ballyconnell, Co Cavan – including cement, tarmac, roof tiles, blocks and packaging.
The new company carries the bust tycoon’s name – Quinn Industrial Holdings.
John McCartin, a non-executive director, said “supportive noises” from Mr Quinn proved “crucial” in landing the deal.
The Co Leitrim businessman and Fine Gael councillor added: “We view his help in the future as being fairly crucial as well and he has agreed in principle to give us a hand.”
He also cited the community and staff support Mr Quinn still commands as being important.
“Then there would have been a lot of very large customers who dealt with Sean Quinn in the past and would like to deal with him again in the future,” he added.
“For all those reasons we would be very happy to make use of Sean’s talents and the respect in which he is held in a lot of circles. It will be a consultancy or advisory role, but he’ll certainly have an important role to play.”