Mr Bill McCabe was pretty non-committal this week when it came to the subject of a Dublin market listing for his CBT Group, but the betting in the market is that the software group will take a listing later this year.
Following bumper full-year results which sent the shares soaring through the Nasdaq roof, CBT hit a high of $87 (£63.50) before ending up over 6 per cent on a new closing high of $85.
At this level, CBT is valued at $841 million or £614 million and would make up more than 1.5 per cent of the ISEQ Index if it listed in Dublin.
With that sort of clout in the index, institutional investors would have little option but to take a stake in CBT, a demand that would certainly underpin the share price.
CBT's Irish institutional presence is another factor pointing to a Dublin listing.
Domestic investors will usually be happier when they have a local market for their shares.
That's why Ryanair and Iona opted for Dublin listings as well as a presence on Nasdaq.
Another clue to CBT's intentions is the decision to split the shares a move that will reduce the unit value of the shares from the current $85 to $42.50.
Mr McCabe said that this was to improve the liquidity of the shares there are currently just 9.9 million in issue. Certainly, investors in the Irish market would like to see a strong liquid stock like CBT after it doubles the number of shares in issue.
Mr Denis O'Brien of Esat is another expected to look towards a Dublin listing at some stage, and judging by its recent performance on Nasdaq, US institutions have taken to the stock.
Esat is currently trading at close to its post-flotation high at $16 5/8 even though it will be another four years before the telecoms group begins to report profits.
But Irish institutions are notoriously wary of start-up companies and they would look at Esat as a virtual start-up, and the prospect of no profits, not to mention dividends for a long period would probably frighten off the short-termists among the Irish institutional investment community.
That said, telecoms is undoubtedly going to be a strong growth area in the next decade, and if Irish investors stay clear of the likes of Esat because they do not see an immediate earnings flow, they risk being left out of a major growth sector over the next decade.
Credit Suisse First Boston has already put a takeover tag on Esat, and suggested that the likes of British Telecom and WorldCom would see Esat as an easy way into the Irish market.
That sort of speculation alone should support the share at at least its current level the shares have already risen over $3 since the beginning of the year to the current $16 5/8 high.
