Interesting to see that the three top men at Heiton have gone into the market buying shares at option prices, investments that should net a tidy profit if and when Grafton follows up its stake-building with a bid for its building materials and DIY rival.
Chairman Richard Hewat bought 115,000 shares, while chief executive Leo Martin and finance director Peter Byers each bought 75,000 shares at £1.50 (€1.89) each - giving them a nice paper profit with Heiton shares currently trading at €3.05.
At this stage, it's hard to know what Grafton's intentions are. Michael Chadwick and Norman Kilroy began buying Heiton shares 15 months ago, but suddenly stopped earlier this year after building up a 14.7 per cent stake at an average price of €2.68.
Fine, Grafton is sitting on a bit of a profit from its dabbling in Heiton shares, but Michael Chadwick and Norman Kilroy haven't spent almost £13.5 million on the stake just as an investment.
It's time to lift the uncertainty and Grafton should get off the pot and bid for Heiton. If they don't they will miss a golden opportunity to create a major force in the building materials industry, more capable of fighting off overseas competition from the likes of Wolseley which has targeted the Irish market.
