Quinlan Private will decide next week whether to make a bid for Wentworth golf club. Quinlan and the other minority shareholders in the Surrey golf club are due to meet on Monday to consider their response to the £110 million (€161.9 million) bid from retail entrepreneur Mr Richard Caring. Several other potential players, including Quinlan Private, are mulling a counter bid.
Mr Caring's bid, which was made on Tuesday, has all but knocked Fermanagh businessman Mr Seán Quinn out of the race for the club.
Wentworth's largest shareholder, property company Chelsfield, gave an irrevocable undertaking to accept Mr Caring's offer.
Chelsfield - which owns the "B" shares in Wentworth - can only get out if this commitment if a rival bid in excess of £120 million materialises.
Victory is not assured for Mr Caring as the 26 holders of the "A" shares in Wentworth - who control 40 per cent of the club - have pre-emption rights which allow them to match bids for the organisation.
Among them is the Savoy Group, which is owned by consortium of Irish investors marshalled by Mr Derek Quinlan.
His vehicle, Quinlan Private, has exercised its pre-emption rights but has remained coy about whether it will actually make a bid, saying instead that its objective is to maximise shareholder value.
Quinlan Private acquired its interest following its £1.1 billion takeover of the Savoy Hotel Group last April.
Another of the "A" shareholders, hotelier Mr Surinder Arora, is also reported to have exercised his pre-emption rights and to be considering a bid. Mr Eddy Shah, the former newspaper proprietor, is another considering his options.
Mr Quinn, who had bid £102 million, is currently reviewing the situation but sources close to the businessmen said he was unlikely to be interested at £120 million, which would be more than £25 million over the book value of the facility.
Mr Quinn initially bid £87.5 million for the 75-year-old club, which is located on a 200-acre estate in Surrey.
Wentworth has three gold courses as well as tennis and other leisure facilities. Its West course has hosted both the annual PGA and World Match Play Championships.
