Independent directors of Irish Continental Group (ICG) yesterday extended the deadline they had set for the two groups seeking to take over the ferry operator to resolve the impasse after both parties failed to meet the original deadline.
In a statement to the Irish Stock Exchange, the independent directors said they believed it was in the best interest of shareholders to extend the deadline to 5pm on Monday.
They had previously issued an ultimatum to the competing consortiums - Aella and Moonduster - saying that both parties must name the highest price they were prepared to pay for ICG by noon last Thursday. They also sought details of the consortiums' intentions if the directors recommended a bid other than their own.
Neither group complied with the instruction and yesterday sources close to both parties suggested it was unlikely that the situation, which has been rumbling on since March, would be any different by the end of Monday.
Both Aella, the buyout group led by ICG chief executive Eamonn Rothwell, and Philip Lynch's Moonduster, which comprises One51 and the Doyle shipping group, have offered €22 a share for ICG, valuing it at €560.9 million.
Each group holds a blocking stake - Moonduster controls 20.38 per cent of ICG and Aella 17.19 per cent - which means a breakthrough is unlikely under the current scheme of arrangement, which requires the successful party to gain the support of 75 per cent of the company's share capital.
Aside from the two consortiums, only developer Liam Carroll has been stakebuilding in the ferries group. He is now believed to hold more than 10 per cent of the group.
Analysts said they were not surprised that the deadline had been extended in light of the short notice - only three days - given to the companies, but they also said they did not expect any progress by Monday.
It appears increasingly likely that the independent directors will end up asking the Takeover Panel to bring the deadlock to an end by issuing an ultimatum for the submission of final offers or the prospect of being barred from bidding for the company for 12 months, one source said.
The panel has a legal obligation to ensure that a target company is not disrupted in its business for an undue period.
In the absence of any other bidders, the only other options are for one of the parties to submit a bid high enough to be accepted by the other side, or to make a new offer that requires the bidder to only take control of more than 51 per cent of the share capital. (This would have higher stamp duty implications than the scheme of arrangement process that is currently on the table.)
In yesterday's statement, the directors said there was no guarantee that an offer with an improved certainty of execution would be forthcoming as a result of the current process.
