Construction company in talks with Quinn Group

A delegation from the UK-based Laing O'Rourke flew out of St Angelo Airport in Co Fermanagh in a private jet yesterday after two days of negotiations at Quinn headquarters in nearby Co Cavan.

Tycoon Sean Quinn is facing multibillion-euro debts after Quinn Insurance, the most lucrative arm of his portfolio, was placed in administration, putting more than 1,000 jobs at risk.

That business is already Laing O'Rourke's primary insurer, having taken over the contract last year.

It is understood this week's meetings focused on other divisions of the group as any discussions on Quinn Insurance would have had to involve the administrators, who were not present.

Asked what the exchanges centred on, both companies declined to be drawn, each insisting they do not comment on speculation.

Laing O'Rourke, a global construction and engineering firm with a turnover of 5bn per annum, would have a particular synergy with the cement and block building arms of the Quinn empire.

In the past month takeover speculation has focused on the Anglo Irish Bank's bid to heavily invest in Quinn Insurance in an effort to recoup some of the 2.8bn Quinn owes the nationalised lender.

The chairman and primary shareholder of Laing O'Rourke is Co Mayo-born Ray O'Rourke.

The future of the Quinn Group has been thrown into uncertainty since the cash cow insurance division hit the rocks last month.

Although Ireland's Financial Regulator Matthew Elderfield partially lifted his ban on the company writing new UK business last week to enable it to insure provisional drivers, the ongoing limitation on its workload threatens an estimated 1,000 employees.