Irish billionaire Denis O’Brien is to spend almost $1.4 billion buying out minority shareholders in his Caribbean telecoms group Digicel in a private placement of senior notes.

In a statement yesterday, Bermuda-based Digicel Group Ltd, which was formed by Mr. O’Brien, said it was offering to “acquire all of the outstanding shares of Digicel Limited in exchange for cash”.

It said it planned to launch the private placement of $1.4 billion of senior notes due 2015.

Mr. O’Brien, currently owns 78 per cent of the shares of Digicel Limited. According to the statement the share purchase will be financed by Mr O’Brien and the issuance of notes.

Since its launch in 2001, Digicel has become the fastest-growing wireless telecommunications operator in the Caribbean region.