It might have had the hallmarks of a management group gearing up to take their company private, but Athlone Extrusions management is emphatic that the purchase of almost 10 per cent of the company from other shareholders is not the first step towards management buyout, and that Athlone is determined to remain a public company.

Still, the purchase of the 4.5 million shares by a 15-strong management group will inevitably lead to speculation that Athlone is set to follow Clondalkin into private status, especially given the treatment the shares have got since Athlone went public last year. The 4.5 million shares were sold by ABN-Amro and former Athlone chairman Mr Pat Plunkett, at 83 cents (65p) each.

The Athlone share dealings were one of the few highlights of another tedious day on the market, with weak international markets weighing heavily on Irish shares. Price movements downwards may have been modest, but the tone of the market was negative with dealers looking to the next major corporate events - interim figures from Bank of Ireland and Eircom next month - to hopefully give the market a kick-start.

Eircom hit a low of €3.90 (£3.07) before recovering to close down 5 cents on the day on €3.95 (£3.11). Major financials were a few cents weaker with AIB down 2 cents on €12.25 (£9.65) and Bank of Ireland off 3 cents on €8.17 (£6.43). CRH lost 10 cents to €19.00 (£14.96), Green core was 7 1/2 cents lower on €2.81 1/2 (£2.22) while Irish Life closed down 15 cents on €10.50 (£8.27) after hitting an earlier low of €10.30 (£8.11).