Seán Quinn, and his son Seán Jnr, are to leave the company the businessman founded more than 40 years ago.

The one-time billionaire had been seeking to regain control of the company he lost after losing his empire after been made bankrupt. The company is now known as Quinn Industrial Holdings Limited.

Mr Quinn, who was discharged from bankruptcy last year, was recently issued with an ultimatum by the American owners of the Cavan-Fermanagh based company where he is employed as a consultant warning him that he faced having his €500,000 per year contract terminated following the dispute.

The financiers asked Mr Quinn to withdraw his demand for an equity stake in the business, a seat on the board, allegations of impropriety against the management and to promote and engage with the senior staff in a constructive manner.

But Mr Quinn denied he had “sought a seat on the board of Quinn Industrial Holdings Limited or new equity in the company” and said he was the subject of an orchestrated campaign which he said was designed to “discredit” him.

Commercial differences

Commenting on his departure on Thursday, Mr Quinn said there had been commercial differences between himself and the owners of his former businesses.

He said an agreement had been reached which creates “a pathway for the Quinn family to potentially realise its ambitions over time”.

“Arising from this positive development, I have agreed to stand aside from my contract with Quinn Industrial Holdings to facilitate that process,” Mr Quinn said in a statement.

In a a letter to QIHL staff, the company’s board said it entered into “a consultancy agreement as a framework to facilitate Seán Quinn’s involvement in the businesses”.

“We believed that this would enable us to benefit from the wealth of experience that Seán had built up since he founded the businesses and was a role intended both as a mark of respect for Seán and to assist in creating a unified sense of purpose in support of a local management team and local businesses that sustain local employment and prosperity,” it said.

The company statement continued: “As time has progressed it has become evident that Seán’s expectations for his role and the ownership structure of QIHL are at odds with the strategic direction of the businesses.”

‘Mutually agreed’

The statement continued: “Accordingly, it has been mutually agreed between the parties that QIHL’s consultancy arrangement with Sean Quinn and Sean Quinn Junior will be discontinued, albeit Sean will have continued access to office facilities for his own personal use. The Board of QIHL is pleased that it has been possible to reach agreement on this matter and we were keen that staff should hear the news directly from the Company.”

More to follow...