€145m takeover bid for Abbey

The majority shareholders of Irish housebuilding group, Abbey, have lodged a €145m takeover bid for the company.

Gallagher Holdings — which represents the interests of the Gallagher family and is headed up by Abbey’s chairman, Charles Gallagher and his brother and fellow board member, David — has had to lodge a mandatory bid for the company after the purchase of a further 931,537 shares upped its share of the group from 47.2% to 51.6%.

The bid for Abbey’s entire share capital values the company at £114.1m (€144.7m).