The three founders of Dublin-listed company Newcourt are to look at the possibility of making an offer for the group.
The three - chief executive Ted O'Neill and directors Hugh O'Neill and Phil Sykes - have received permission from the board to seek funding for a proposed offer. Some other members of the management team also intend to participate in any buy-out.
But the directors have said there can be no certainty that the necessary finance will be available on satisfactory terms in the current market conditions.
A statement said the directors believed that the fall in Newcourt's share price over the last year showed that there was little appetite among investors for smaller stock exchange companies. It added that the benefits of a stock market listing - such as easier access to capital and the use of shares to pay for acquisitions - were no longer available, but it still had to carry the extra costs.
Newcourt's shares were trading at around €1.50 this time last year, but they closed yesterday at 20 cent.
