The many ups and downs at Independent News & Media

Since 2006, Denis O’Brien, who made his fortune in telecommunications, had been slowly buying shares in Independent News and Media (INM). This was to the chagrin of Tony O’Reilly who had bought the business in 1973 and within a few years turned the Irish publisher into a global company. At the time INM owned more than 100 newspapers.

In 2008, O’Brien and O’Reilly had a widely reported dispute. O’Brien accused O’Reilly of running ...