South Wharf shareholders were told at their AGM (2 Aug) that the details & timetable for the sale of the 25-acre Docklands site, where the firm is based, will be announced September. The value of the site is at least £250M & was the subject of an ownership row between Dublin Port & South Wharf. A conditional settlement to abandon outstanding litigation in the Commercial Court was announced last June. Due to Irish Takeover Rules, new information about the tender process for the sale was not disclosed. The bottling firm, formerly Ardagh plc & Irish Glass Bottle, has been renting the site on the Poolbeg peninsula for about 30y. Tenders to acquire complete control of South Wharf will be sought from third parties in Sept. Dublin Port Company will get 33.6% of the sale's proceeds & South Wharf shareholders will get the remainder, excluding estimated transaction & legal costs of £15m. Three of the directors were re-elected at the AGM & two special resolutions, to allot equity securities & the maximum number of shares authorised to be purchased, were all passed. Problems between Dublin Port & South Wharf surfaced last April after the latter decided to work with the port company in redeveloping its property. Taking advantage of a little- known provision in the Landlord & Tenant Act of 1978, South Wharf tried to force Dublin Port to sell them the site for £750,000, but Dublin Port disputed this.
