The success of the Clondalkin management in putting together a €385 million (£303 million) buy out (MBO) package will undoubtedly focus attention on other possible management buyouts of Irish public companies whose share prices have suffered from the current institutional lack of interest in small/mid-capitalisation stocks.

The fact that the Clondalkin management has been successful in attracting a blue-chip venture capital house like Candover to back the MBO may give other managements the impetus to follow suit.

"There's no question that getting the finance is not a problem as long as a company can show that it has good growth prospects," said one corporate financier, who added that there was a large number of potential MBO candidates on the Irish market.

While packaging group Adare has publicly stated that it has no plans to go private, the management of IWP, headed by Mr Joe Moran, has already flirted with the idea of a buyout as did the Unidare management before the arrival of Mr Dermot Desmond and Mr Pierce Casey on the shareholders' register.

Prime candidates for buyouts include housebuilder Abbey, where the Gallagher family already has a 26 per cent stake, engineering/packaging group Barlo and building materials group Kingspan, where the Murtagh family has a 26 per cent stake.