Management group's bid for ICG set to fail

Management group Aella's recommended €24 a share bid for ferry firm Irish Continental Group (ICG) looks set to fail tomorrow following more share buying by rival investors Moonduster and Liam Carroll at levels 5 per cent above the management team's offer price.

Property developer Liam Carroll yesterday disclosed to the stock market that he had acquired 78,386 ICG shares last Friday at prices up to €25.20.

The notice to the stock market said Mr Carroll now controls 23.15 per cent of ICG.

Sources close to the property developer, however, said Mr Carroll bought more shares yesterday, bringing his stake in ICG to about 23.5 per cent.

He is believed to have acquired these shares yesterday at levels just above €25. Moonduster, meanwhile, has increased its stake to 24.5 per cent, according to sources close to the group. The consortium has bought shares in recent days at prices up to €25.20 a share. Some of these shares are held as contracts for difference.

Moonduster comprises the Philip Lynch-led One51 Capital and the Cork-based Doyle Shipping group. The consortium offered €22 a share for ICG in June, a bid that was subsequently trumped on August 20th by Aella, a management group led by the ferry company's chief executive Eamonn Rothwell.

Informed sources said Moonduster had recently approached a number of pension funds that owned stock in ICG offering to buy their shares in the ferry operator.

Mr Carroll and Moonduster are expected to oppose Aella's €611.8 million offer for ICG when it comes before an extraordinary general meeting of shareholders tomorrow.

It is not clear if Moonduster will make a revised offer for ICG or if Mr Carroll will table a bid for the first time.

Aella could also decide to launch a higher bid in advance of the meeting, in an effort to pre-empt any such move from Moonduster or Mr Carroll.

Informed sources said it was unlikely that Mr Carroll would launch a bid for ICG.

Instead, he is likely to continue buying shares until his stake hits 29.9 per cent, the point beyond which he would have to make an offer for the full company.