The Irish Stock Exchange is to examine trading in shares in Jurys Doyle Hotels before the company's announcement that it had receive a takeover approach.
The Jurys Doyle, which is the largest hotel group in Ireland, has seen its share rise by 15% adding €138m to the value of the group in less than a week. A takeover deal would be worth more than €1 billion.
Jurys Doyle owns the Berkeley Court, Jurys Ballsbridge and The Towers on a seven acre site in Dublin. That prime land site would be worth €200m if turned into apartments. The hotel group has received a takeover approach from an unidentified bidder - there is speculation it could be a property developer.
Last week the rumours of a bid hit the stock market. The shares suddenly rose 10% over two days. On Monday the company said it had been approached by a potential buyer and this confirmation added a further 5%.
The surge has triggered the Takeover Panel and the Stock Exchange to examine the dealings. That is a normal practice when share suddenly jump before a takeover announcement.
Jurys Doyle said details of the approach were communicated to the stock market in a timely manner and in line with regulations.
