Precinct, the consortium trying to take over Jurys Doyle, has made a new approach to the hotel group, offering €17.50 per share.
The group, comprising Bryan Cullen, David Coleman and JJ Murphy, said last night that an offer at this level would be conditional on an 80 per cent approval rate.
They added, however, that if this was not achievable, they would offer €16.75 per share if they got a 65 per cent approval rate. They also said that they could reduce this acceptance threshold to a level above 50 per cent in the future.
The twin-track approach is very similar to the structure used by Precinct last year when it was successful in taking over the Gresham Hotel Group. At that stage, the objective was to force the hand of blocking shareholder Red Sea Hotels.
In the case of Jurys, the consortium is trying to get around the apparent opposition of the Doyle and Beatty families, which together own 30 per cent of the company.
A 65 per cent approval rate would in theory allow Precinct to win control of the company with or without the families' assent.
A spokesman for Jurys said the board had noted the Precinct announcement and would respond in due course.
A Takeover Panel deadline for Precinct to make a firm offer falls today but the consortium has asked for this to be extended. Jurys must accede to this request.
Precinct issued a statement after the market closed last night, pointing out that a €17.50 price tag would represent a 40 per cent premium over the closing mid-market share price of Jurys on May 5th, the last trading day before Precinct made its first approach at €15.25. Shares in Jurys closed at €15.60 yesterday.
Since May the consortium has raised its informal offer three times, with the latest approach at €17.50 valuing the firm at slightly more than €1.1 billion.
This marks an increase of €63 million on the firm's previous offer at €16.50. This suggests that Precinct had earlier placed a valuation of about €200 million on the site at Ballsbridge in Dublin that Jurys is selling to developer Seán Dunne for €260 million.
Jurys confirmed yesterday that it had agreed a deal with Mr Dunne, who plans a residential development for the site occupied by the Jurys Ballsbridge Hotel, The Towers and The Berkeley Court Apartments.
The company said the deal would deliver a €258 million gain after expenses, representing a book gain of about €159 million. This gain would transfer to Precinct in the event of a takeover.
As expected, the firm indicated that it would look at making a "significant cash distribution" to shareholders if the deal is closed according to plan. Analysts believe this could mean a special dividend of about €1.50 per share. The land sale requires approval at a special shareholder meeting on September 27th.
Jurys also held out the possibility of selling on more assets in the future, which may include the sites occupied by the Burlington and Montrose hotels in Dublin.
It is possible that Jurys would sell some or all of these properties and lease back hotels built on the same site. It could also sell certain sites for developments other than hotels and simply realise a cash return.
Accompanying the Ballsbridge announcement was a trading update from Jurys, in which the hotel group warned of disappointing activity in its Dublin four-star hotels.
The company also pointed to an underperformance in some of its newer properties, such as the Jurys Boston Hotel. In London, Jurys said, business had been affected by recent terrorist activity, albeit not in a "material" way.
