Carroll increases his stake in ICG

Shares in Irish Continental Group (ICG) reached a new high of €25.75 yesterday after yet more buying by property developer Liam Carroll.

Mr Carroll acquired 376,510 shares in ICG on Thursday at this price to take his holding in the ferry company to 24.82 per cent, according to a statement released to the stock market yesterday.

This latest share buying represents a 7.3 per cent premium to the €24-a-share offer by the management buyout group Aella, which saw its bid rejected by ICG investors on Wednesday. Mr Carroll now owns 5.975 million shares in ICG and is the company's second-largest shareholder.

ICG's biggest shareholder is Moonduster, a consortium comprising the Philip Lynch-led One51 Capital and the Cork-based Doyle shipping group.

Moonduster owns 25.28 per cent, according to latest filings, and has paid a top price of €25.40 for its stock.

Mr Carroll is expected to continue mopping up shares in ICG until he reaches 29.9 per cent, the threshold beyond which he would have to make a bid for the company.

The shares are being purchased on his behalf by South Morston Investment Company Ltd, which Mr Carroll owns with his wife Róisín. The shares were sold by AIB, according to a separate filing released to the stock exchange yesterday.

At yesterday's closing price in Dublin, the ferry group was valued at €609 million.

ICG has been in a takeover process since early March when Aella, which is led by the firm's chief executive Eamonn Rothwell, lodged an €18.50-a-share bid.

This was topped by Moonduster in June when it offered €22 a share, before Aella came back with an improved €611.8 million offer that was rejected by shareholders this week.