Vol. 506 No. 5
34 Mrs. B. Moynihan-Cronin asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the Government's proposals for the future of Irish Fertiliser Industries; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15843/99]
Further to the agreement between the State and ICI to seek a joint sale of 100 per cent of Irish Fertilizer Industries, an information memorandum was issued to interested parties in early March. Two proposals were received by the closing date of 26 March.
Following clarification and evaluation of the two indicative offers received, the shareholders are of the view that neither offer presented a sufficiently strong basis for proceeding further with the joint sale of IFI. However, a new potential purchaser has recently indicated an interest and this is currently being pursued.
Once the position regarding this new expression of interest has been clarified and any indicative offer evaluated, the shareholders will decide on whether a joint sale could be progressed with this third party. Should this not prove possible, the shareholders can explore the options remaining in relation to ownership, which include abandoning the sale process altogether or, at any rate, postponing the process for a period or examining the possibility of a unilateral sale of the State 51 per cent shareholding.
In advance of developments in connection with the most recent potential purchasers inquiry, I do not propose to comment further on the matter at the present time, as to do so could complicate dealings with them.
