Bankrupt Sean Quinn hired by new owners of his empire

The bankrupted former business tycoon will be retained as a paid advisor by Quinn Business Retention Company (QBRC), once the sale of much of the former Quinn manufacturing and packaging business completes, possibly as early as today.

Sean Quinn will advise the new owners but; "he will not be a shareholder, senior executive or director of the new venture," QBRC non-executive director John McCartin told the Irish Independent.

Mr McCartin, a business man and Fine Gael county councillor based in Co Leitrim, is part of the group including former senior Quinn Group managers that has sealed a deal to buy former Quinn assets including cement factories, quarries, tarmac, roof tile and insulation businesses, and a packaging division.

He confirmed that Sean Quinn will return to the business, once QBRC takes over from exiting owners Aventas. Around 700 people work in the businesses being bought, many in the neighbouring towns of Ballyconnell, Co Cavan and Derrylin, Co Fermanagh, that were at the heart of the former Quinn business empire.

Sean Quinn lost control of Quinn Group and was bankrupted as a result of losses he suffered after his massive gamble on Anglo Irish Bank shares following the bank's collapse into a bailout and nationalisation in 2008.

The finances of Quinn Group and Anglo Irish Bank had become damagingly linked as a result of the Anglo Irish Bank share investments, made through secret trading in so called contracts for difference (CFDs).

Mr Quinn was not involved in financing the latest acquisition for former Quinn assets, Mr McCartin said.

However, having Sean Quinn on board is "crucial" to the success of the new entity, he said.

That relates in particular to the Quinn Group founder's relationship with local landowners who supply sand and gravel as raw materials for the Quinn manufacturing businesses, as well as his relationship with customers, managers and employees, he said.

Mr McCartin said Sean Quinn was supportive of the initiative to retain local ownership of Quinn Group and feared a sale to outside buyers would see plants shut.

It's understood other members of the Quinn family have not been approached to rejoin the business.

QBRC's €90m deal to buy the old Quinn Manufacturing and Quinn Packaging businesses from Avantes is expected to complete today.

The money raised from the sale will mainly go to US bondholders, who took ownership of the business following the collapse of the once global Quinn business empire.

His return to the cut and thrust of big business will be a remarkable turnaround for Sean Quinn.

He was once the country's richest man, but lost control of his businesses in 2011, was bankrupted and last year completed a nine-week jail sentence for contempt of court.

He remains a hero to many in the border region where companies he set up employed thousands of people at their height, many in areas that were traditional employment blackspots.

Former Quinn Group chief executive Liam McCaffrey, who was Sean Quinn's number two when the businessman controlled Quinn Group is part of the QBRC, and will take over the top job at the business.

Former financial director Dara O'Reilly and Kevin Lunney another former executive will also return to the business.

The deal to buy the Quinn manufacturing and packaging units is being financed by three US bondholder funds Brigade Capital, Silver Point and Contrarian who were part of a 43 strong group of lenders that ended up owning Quinn Group following the dramatic fall of the Sean Quinn empire. The US funds are ahead of IBRC, the former Anglo Irish Bank, in the queue to be repaid as Quinn Group assets are sold off.

Mr Quinn, who is being pursued for loans of €2.8bn by Anglo, spent nine weeks in jail for contempt of court over a scheme that put the family's €500m international property empire beyond the former bank's reach.

Anglo was the first bank to seek a government bail-out. It was nationalised in 2009 and its affairs taken over by the IBRC .

Action

Mr Quinn's wife, Patricia, and their five children are now taking an action against the IBRC claiming it breached company legislation and market abuse regulations when it gave loans to the family in its former incarnation as Anglo Irish Bank.

They argue that the purpose of the €1.8bn loan was to prop up the share price of the bank and the money would not have been drawn down if they had known the true state of its finances. Mr McCartin said Mr McCaffrey was due to give his first orders as chief executive this morning.

"From the very beginning we had to come to an understanding with Sean that he would be supportive of that process, and we want to capitalise on that support from both community and customers, encouraging Sean to help us in every way."

But he insisted Mr Quinn's pay has yet to be agreed.

"None of that has been thrashed out at this stage, but you can't expect someone to work for nothing for the business.

"He has been supportive up to now and we hope to capitalise on that in the future."

"Sean was eager to see businesses return to local ownership and feared that buy-outs from outside the area would mean a wind-down or a move elsewhere," he said.