The Irish industrial holding group Fitzwilton, in which Waterford Wedgwood chief Tony O“Reilly and his brother-in-law Mr. Peter Goulandris and their associates have effective control, is now expected…
The Irish industrial holding group Fitzwilton, in which Waterford Wedgwood chief Tony O“Reilly and his brother-in-law Mr. Peter Goulandris and their associates have effective control, is now expected to acquire the remaining stake held by US bank Morgan Stanley in Waterford Wedgwood before the end of this month for around UK 23 million. Earlier, Fitzwilton sources had indicated that its option to acquire the remaining Morgan Stanley stake had expired at the end of March, but it is now understood that the option will be exercised at around the same figure of UK 23 million paid by Mr. Goulandris to increase his stake from 2.6% to 6.2% late last month. Morgan Stanley, through its leveraged equity fund, was part of the original group, with Dr. O“Reilly and Fitzwilton, which effectively rescued Waterford Wedgwood from collapse in 1990. At that time, Morgan Stanley took a 15% stake in Waterford Wedgwood as part of the restructuring which saw the American bank, Fitzwilton and a group of American investors take a combined 29.9% of Waterford Wedgwood through the Shuttleway investment vehicle. But Morgan Stanley has a policy of not holding on to its investments for longer than five years and will be a willing seller of its remaining 3.7% stake, especially as its initial investment in Waterford Wedgwood was at 37 pence per share. Over the past two years, the bank has been gradually exiting from Waterford Wedgwood by selling its share either directly to Dr. O“Reilly and his in laws or to Fitzwilton.