08.10.2007

O’Brien ownership change

William O'Brien Junior has purchased the 75 percent holding in William O’Brien Plant Hire that he did not already own. The shares have been bought from his parents and other members of the O'Brien family for an undisclosed sum.

O’Brien Junior, who has been managing director since 1996, said: "I am delighted to be keeping the company in family ownership. This is a superb business, with first rate management and staff, market leading positions and great prospects for the future.
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William O'Brien (L) and William Jnr (R) presenting a cheque to a childrens charity last year.

The company appointed Merion Capital in February to find a buyer for the business and since then a number of rumours have surfaced regarding possible suitors. The company is said to have a value in the region of €10 to €12 million. click here to see original story

O’Brien also said that he plans to invest a further €7 million in new equipment and expects to expand the company significantly over the next few years.

"I remain committed to expanding the business and our current investment plans bear testament to the very ambitious growth plans currently in the pipeline. Central to these plans are a recent land purchase at Little Island which will be used to build a new state of the art maintenance facility for our fleet. We expect construction to begin on this project in April next year with an expected completion date of November 2009," he said.