Shares in ferries group Irish Continental (ICG) have tumbled in Dublin after the Moonduster consortium dropped its bid for the group.
In October last year, ICG said it had received an approach from Moonduster seeking to talk to other shareholders with a view to bringing forward an offer. The consortium is made up of infrastructure investor One51 and shipping company Doyle Group.
The Irish Takeover Panel had announced a deadline of April 20 for the offer. This deadline was subsequently extended to 9am this morning.
In a statement today, Moonduster said it had informed ICG's independent directors that despite its best efforts over several months, it was not possible to bring forward an acceptable offer in the current economic climate and difficult funding environment.
'Accordingly Moonduster and any parties acting in concert with it will not be proceeding with an offer for ICG,' the statement concluded.
ICG said the offer period which started on October 23 2008 has now terminated.
'A prolonged offer period is an inevitable distraction for a company and in that sense the ending of the offer period after more than six months is in the best interests of the company,' it said in a separate statement.
Shares in the company closed almost 25% lower at €10.10 in Dublin.
