Independent News & Media will have a new chief executive in early May, when founder Sir Anthony O’Reilly will retire on his 73rd birthday and his son Gavin will take over.

Shares in the company soared on news of the announcement, more than doubling to 21c on the Irish stock exchange, the biggest gain in 22 years.

INM has media holdings in 22 countries around the world including APN, publisher of the New Zealand Herald and is one of the largest media companies in Australasia.

The failure of Sir Tony O’Reilly’s Independent News & Media (INM) to sell its 39% stake in Australasian media company APN could still see individual assets such as the New Zealand Herald or the outdoor advertising division sold off.

INM is under heavy pressure to offload assets in order to ease a €1.4 billion debt burden, of which the attempted sale of APN for €800 million was meant to be a major component.