Adare Printing is a company with more than 1,500 employees in Ireland and Britain, sales of well over €200 million (£158 million) and profits likely to reach €22 million in the year to the end of April last.

Yet a company of this size is now in the extraordinary position of having its managing director and finance director on opposing sides in a battle for control.

Who actually is running Adare right now?

When Peter Lynch first disclosed that he was putting together a management buyout (MBO) group, he was immediately removed from dayto-day involvement with Adare's business - to the extent that he had to relocate to an office in William Fry Solicitors.

Now managing director Nelson Loane, whose relations with his finance director are frosty - having been excluded from the Lynch group - has come up with an alternative MBO group.

We haven't yet been told if Mr Loane has also had to withdraw from the day-to-day running of the business and relocate elsewhere like Peter Lynch, nor do we know how his bid will be financed. But if most of Adare's senior managers have lined up behind Mr Lynch, Mr Loane may find it difficult to get financial backing for his own proposal.

Venture capitalists will want to know exactly who is going to be running the company in which they are putting their money.

It's taken as read that if he loses, Peter Lynch will have little option but to quit as Adare finance director, but what of the 100 managers who have lined up behind the finance director.

There is no question that Mr Loane enjoys an excellent relationship with his institutional investors, one of whom told Current Account recently: "We've a lot of time for Nelson; he's always delivered on what he promised."

The problem for Mr Loane is, however, that he is competing against a group which includes most of the senior management which actually runs the company.

No matter how highly regarded Mr Loane is by Adare's institutional shareholders, the fact is that the highest offer will win the day.