Coolmore Stud Valued At 4 Billion Euros - 04-01-08

April 1 - Irish horse racing mogul, John Magnier can now comfortably join the exclusive club of US billionaires. Magnier's Coolmore Stud has previously been valued at €210m, but with his major takeover of a competing stud farm last week, valuations by senior Irish corporate financiers have increased the stud farm's value to between €3bn and €4bn.

Coolmore Stud's Irish operations produce about €160m in income each year. They have 53 horses at stud, including the champion sire, Sadler's Wells, who it is believed earns the operation about €200 000 each time he sires a foal. Coolmore is also home to Galileo, the prize winning racehorse who has won both the Epsom and Irish Derby.

In Ireland, the Coolmore estate sits on 2000 acres which is worth about €130m according to a well-known racehorse breeder who also owns a fair number of stud horses. They also own an extensive amount of land in Australia as well as about 2500 acres in the US.

All of which increase the value of the operation exponentially.

One industry source said that Coolmore is a one of a kind trophy asset that would probably only appeal to a person who could not only afford to purchase it, but who is really passionate about the horse breeding business. The same source said that the only people who could possibly afford a stud of Coolmore's caliber are Middle-Eastern billionaires who are known to be avid horse racing fans.