Two teams of corporate advisers in Dublin were engaged in trying to bring the holding of Dermot Desmond's IIU in Powerscreen up over 10 per cent last month, Current Ac- count understands. NCB, where the idea apparently originated and Goodbody were both ploughing through the share register trying to get over the magic 10 per cent figure.
A holding at this level would have allowed Mr Desmond to block the Terex takeover; in the Republic a bidder requires 80 per cent of a company's shares for a bid to go unconditional, but in Britain the requirement is a 90 per cent holding.
Hence a stake of 10 per cent would have put Mr Desmond in a strong position, either to hold up the Terex bid and try to up the price or to have a say in the company's future, if the Terex bid fell.
In the event he managed to acquire just under 10 per cent, leading to the decision to exercise the option to buy the shares and then selling the bulk of them on immediately.
No doubt the original decision to invest was based on a view that the stockmarket was undervaluing Powerscreen's business and its assets. Mr Desmond, who has generally done well in his raids on Irish second-line stocks, will hope to do better with his recent investment in Golden Vale.
