The independent directors of Irish Continental Group (ICG) confirmed yesterday that the consortium considering a rival offer to the management bid for the listed company has begun due diligence.
Advisers working for the consortium of investment vehicle One51 and the Doyle shipping group began looking at the ICG books after close of business on Friday.
The directors said in a statement yesterday that the consortium had begun its due diligence, which is likely to take around four weeks.
If the pair decide to go ahead with a bid for the company, which has been in play since last month, they will have to offer at least €20.75 a unit for the shares.
This is the highest price at which they bought shares on the open market, and under Stock Exchange rules they will have to offer the remaining shareholders at least this amount.
This is a 12 per cent premium on the €471 million offered by ICG chief executive Éamonn Rothwell and his management colleagues through their vehicle, Aella.
However, as Doyle and One51 have said that they are considering a bid, pending the outcome of due diligence, the management offer remains the only firm one on the table. Doyle and One51 hold enough of the company to block the Aella bid, which is €18.50 a share, well below the €19.05 to €20.75 range at which the pair bought their shares.
The beginning of due diligence means that the consortium cannot buy any more ICG shares.
There has been speculation that both parties are seeking to buy the company in a bid to realise the value of its landbank in Dublin Port.
This is held on a long lease and subject to a term preventing it from being used for any activities other than those related to port business.
However, sources claim Doyle and One51 see the acquisition as purely a play on ICG's ferry and shipping business, and not on its land bank.
Industry sources do not believe it would be practical to shift ICG's port activities to a new site in north Dublin, a move that some reports at the weekend suggested would allow whichever bidder succeeds in buying the group to release the land in the current site for development.
Doyle is headquartered in Cork, where it has a considerable land bank, all of which continues to be used for port activities there.
It is active in every other major port on the island of Ireland, but has at no stage opted to redevelop any of the properties it holds in these centres.
