The protracted takeover battle for ferries group Irish Continental has ended, after no group was able to put together a new proposal for shareholders by last night's midnight deadline.
A management group known as Aella, and Moonduster - which includes One51 and Doyle Group - had been vying to take over the company since March. Moonduster holds just under 26% of the company, while Aella has just under 17%. Developer Liam Carroll has also built up a 26.3% stake.
Chairman John McGuckian said these competing interests meant it had not been possible to bring forward an offer capable of receiving the necessary 75% backing from shareholders.
Mr McGuckian said the long offer period had been a distraction, and its ending was in the best interests of the company.
He warned, however, that if shareholdings in the company became more concentrated, liquidity may reduce, having a negative effect on the share price.
