ICG to seek takeover bid date

THE independent directors of Irish Continental Group (ICG), dealing with the proposed sale of the ferry and freight services business, are to — as anticipated — request the Irish Takeover Panel (ITP) to impose a deadline by which the Moonduster consortium must make a formal bid for the group.

ICG had initially set a deadline of March 18 for the Moonduster consortium — which comprises Philip Lynch’s One 51 vehicle and the Cork-based Doyle Shipping Group — to table a bid.

According to ICG’s independent directors, they received a written update on the proposed offer by Moonduster’s advisers on Wednesday seeking an extension of the deadline.

The independent directors also said that the details of the letter failed to meet several of the criteria previously set by them and didn’t include details of a proposed offer price.

The actual letter, they said, did not constitute a proposal capable of consideration by the board of independent directors.

In a statement, made via the Irish Stock Exchange yesterday, the independent directors of ICG said: “In line with our previous announcement, (we) will now request the Irish Takeover Panel to exercise its powers pursuant to Rule 35 of the Irish Takeover Rules and impose a deadline for Moonduster to announce an offer.”

They added that even with a deadline in place, the directors would remain available to engage with Moonduster “with a view to bringing forward an offer which is capable of both recommendation and execution within an acceptable timeframe set by the panel”.

The ITP failed to verify whether ICG’s formal request for a deadline had formally been lodged yesterday, or when it may be.

Neither was there any comment from the Moonduster camp — which intimated on Wednesday that matters were at an advanced stage.