Financier Dermot Desmond is believed to have mopped up more than 13% of shares in One51 in the past two days. A total of 19.6m shares transferred hands yesterday at a price from €1.82 to €1.85 per share. It is understood that the shares offered for sale were from Pageant Holdings, the US equity group.

Last week, the environmental and plastics group, received a takeover offer from the London-based private equity group, Capvest, which valued the unlisted plc at €288m or €1.80 per share.

However, it appears that any potential deal with Capvest may now be off the table. Industry sources believe that it would have been Pageant Holdings that brought Capvest to make an offer and that is unlikely a new offer will be made.

Activity

Such a significant level of trading activity at this price suggests that an investor in One51 is either attempting to resist the takeover offer from Capvest by increasing their own stake or, more likely, the company is valued much higher than the present offer of €1.80 per share.

Aside from Dermot Desmond, a number of high net worth individuals, including Larry Goodman and Lochlann Quinn, now control almost 40% of the company combined. Goodman’s stake alone is valued in excess of €11m.

At a share price of €1.85, the One51 business is valued at more than €290m. A further 1% of the company’s shares were traded on Friday at between €1.80 and €1.85 a share. Desmond is again believed to be active.

Desmond must see significant potential in One51 after the progress the company has made in the last three years, during which time it completed a significant restructuring programme. It returned to profit in 2014 and has a solid outlook for the future.

Desmond initially bought into One51 last December when he acquired a 6% shareholding in the company for €7.5m from the UK’s troubled Co-operative Group.

After the past two days’ activity, the above private investors, coupled with the Irish co-ops’ 35% stake, now control 75% of the business.