Property developer Mark Kavanagh is changing the status of his two major Irish firms, Hardwicke Holdings and Kopian, to unlimited entities in a move that will mean the companies no longer have to make any public financial disclosures.
The change comes after Mr Kavanagh became embroiled last year in a US court case involving managed futures firm PlusFunds, in which Mr Kavanagh had invested and of which he was a director.
The company had been sued by a client, hedge-fund firm Sphinx, for more than €214 million when it was alleged that PlusFunds had permitted the transfer of funds belonging to Sphinx to another company, Refco Capital Markets, a commodities broker. Refco collapsed soon after.
Refco's chairman and chief executive, Phillip Bennett, was found to have hidden $420 million in bad debts from investors. PlusFunds was subsequently sued by some Refco creditors and PlusFunds' assets were subsequently sold to San Francisco-headquartered private equity firm, FTVentures.
Late last year the case taken by Sphinx against Mr Kavanagh, PlusFund founder and chairman Christopher Sugrue and other directors was dismissed in New York. Mr Kavanagh has extensive property interests in Ireland, but spends much of his time in Florida. He was among the investors in the Nollaig Partnership that developed the Four Seasons Hotel in Dublin.
