LAND KEY FACTOR IN ICG TAKEOVER BATTLE - The battle for control of Irish Continental Group, which owns Irish Ferries, has heated up. Management had offered to buy out shareholders, but it looks as if a rival offer is being put together.
Businessman Philip Lynch, who heads investment vehicle One51, and Cork-based Doyle Shipping have spent €43m buying shares in the company in recent days. That doubles their stake to 18%.
Stuart Draper, head of research with Dolmen, said ICG's ferries business was a strong cash generating business, while it also had 33 acres off land at Dublin Port.
Mr Draper said any bid would have to be above €20.50, based on the most recent share deals. He added that this would also be in line with previous deals in the shipping sector.
But he said a bid at that price would make sense only if the new owners could extract value from ICG's 33-acre site at Dublin Port. The analyst said One51 also owned Greenore Port, which would point to the potential of moving some port activities from Dublin.
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NEWS AND MARKETS - While the years of rocketing property prices in the Republic have come to a halt, it is the opposite in the North. Estate agents say much of the recent rise in prices is being driven by buyers from the South investing in houses and apartments to let.
A report by the Nationwide building society says the average price of a house in the North rose by 57% in 2006. In the first three months of this year prices are up 14%.
China has hit back at a US decision to file a World Trade Organisation complaint against it for copyright piracy. China said the was ill-informed and would damage trade relations between the two countries. Ben Stiller's hit film Night at the Museum is already available on a fake DVD in China.
Overnight shares have made modest gains in Asia. And the dollar has been climbing in value after figures showing strong growth in jobs in the US. The euro is worth $1.34 and 68p sterling. Oil prices are just below $62 a barrel as investors become increasingly nervous about Iran's nuclear ambitions.
