Fruit trader Fyffes has taken a High Court action against DCC and its chief executive Jim Flavin over the sale in February 2000 of shares DCC held in Fyffes.
In a statement, Fyffes said it was taking action because it believed the share sale constituted unlawful dealing within the meaning of the 1990 Companies Act.
It is believed Fyffes is looking to recover €85m from the money DCC made on the sale of its 10% stake in Fyffes, just weeks prior to a collapse in the company's share price.
At the time of the sale, Jim Flavin was a director of Fyffes. He stepped down soon after the share sale.
Fyffes shares were trading at unprecedented highs because of the dotcom euphoria surrounding its worldoffruit.com operation. Following a profit warning in March 2000, Fyffes' share price collapsed from a high of 3.96 back down to 1.10 euro.
DCC says today's action in without merit, and that the allegations that Flavin was in possession of price sensitive information is totally inconsistent with the behaviour of other Fyffes board members at the time.
