Inishtech seeks clarification from Crean on aspects on bid

THE directors of Inishtech have postponed reconvening their board meeting to consider the proposed offer for the company from James Crean. The board was due to be reconvened in Gibraltar today but has been postponed indefinitely.

Sources close to the negotiations stressed that they have not broken down. However, it is understood that the Inishtech board feels that it has not been provided with enough information by Crean to allow recommendation of the offer.

Crean owns 71.2 per cent of the print and packaging group and announced last month that it was: bidding £26 million, or 550p per share, for the remaining shares. Crean is expected to sell Inishtech subsequently. A number of buyers have been suggested, including Irish print and packaging group Clondalkin as well as the British Wace group.

Three former Crean executives are also understood to be considering mounting a management buyout of Inishtech with backing form NatWest Venture Capital. The three executives, Mr Brian Molloy, Mr Peter Wynne and Mr Philip Soden, left Crean to join Inishtech last month.

The Inishtech board is understood not to have taken issue with the price being offered by Crean but is seeking more information about Crean's plans for the company. The future role of the existing directors and management is understood to be an issue. The payment or compensation for the cancellation of management share options also remains unclear.

Inishtech's board met to consider the offer on February 8th and adjourned pending clarification of a number of issues.

The negotiations are made more complex by the fact that Inishtech is registered in Gibraltar and its board meetings must be held in the British colony. "We have to have a package before we get on a plane to Gibraltar", explained one source. "If we had something in black and white we could take a view," he explained.

Inishtech's Gibraltar registration also means that the normal Stock Exchange code and timetable for the conduct of takeovers does not apply.

Inishtech is chaired by Mr Tom Toner who is also the chairman of Arnotts. The directors include Mr William Browne, Mr William Bruce, Mr Nigel Douthwaite, Mr Frederick Rangolan, Mr Andrew Staples and Mr James Smith, who are all current or former executives of Inishtech subsidiaries. A Gibraltar based accountant, Mr Charles Serruya, is company secretary. Mr Molloy is a director, as is another former Crean executive, Mr Patrick Meagher.