Quinlan denies move for Jurys

DEREK QUINLAN moved yesterday to dampen speculation he was about to bid for Jurys Doyle.

He denied discussions have taken place between him and the Doyle family in a statement issued yesterday.

For several days the smart money pointed to Mr Quinlan siding with the three Doyle sisters, who oppose Precinct’s €1.1bn bid for the group’s 33 hotels.

With €17.50 regarded as fully valuing the group Mr Quinlan would not need to up the price by much to swing the entire board behind the counter offer.

One leading analyst says Mr Quinlan can do a deal but doubted if Bernard McNamara, also regarded as a counter bidder, had the financial clout to knock Precinct off its perch.

Shares in the group continued to rise yesterday and were in late trading to €17.72 against the current Precinct offer of €17.50 from Precinct, suggesting the market is convinced a further bid will emerge.

In his statement he said his group “wishes to confirm that it has not approached the company nor have discussions been held with the company with a view to making an offer for the entire issued share capital of the company”.

It added that as part of its normal course of business, Quinlan Private is reviewing a number of acquisition opportunities, one of which is Jurys Doyle Group.

“While Quinlan Private has dedicated expertise and interest in this sector, there is no guarantee that this will result in an approach to or offer for the company,” the statement concluded.

Bidding for the group began at €15.25. The share price has since jumped about 45%.