AFTER all the hurly burly in previous weeks in which the Dow rose and fell regularly by more than 100 points, those in the Dublin market probably welcomed the relative peace and quiet of the past week. There was some decent sized turnover but price movements were inconsequential with little on the corporate front to stimulate traders.
The financial stocks were in demand as usual, with AIB's links to a bid for the British Co operative Bank as part of Andrew Regan's controversial bid for CWS adding some spice to the proceedings. It remains to be seen whether AIB has regrets about getting involved in the first place, as the abandonment of the Galileo bid means that AIB is unlikely to be high on CWS's list of preferred buyers if Cooperative Bank is put on the block. That said, money would probably talk at the end of the day, and certainly Co-operative Bank would be a delightful buy for AIB, giving it a strong presence in the northwest of Britain and a strong presence in the British credit card market.
With AIB now well ensconced in Poland with its investment in WBK Bank, Bank of Ireland or Irish Life may be the next Irish financial institution to expand into the former eastern bloc. Bank of Ireland and an Irish Life/ Kredietbank joint venture have been shortlisted to bid for a 25 per cent stake in K&H, the bank being part privatised by the Hungarian government. A price tag of around £20 million has been mooted for the K&H stake, but the Hungarians are likely to put as much store on what the buyer will bring to the bank.
The Avonmore/Waterford Foods affair dragged on with little sign that the farmers who own Waterford Co op are any more amenable to the Avonmore proposals than they were a week ago. The financial logic for the deal may be compelling, but the odds on getting a 75 per cent vote from Waterford Co op shareholders are remote.
IBI, for Ayonmore, is expected to respond to the series of questions/clarifications sought by Waterford next week, but few expect a Waterford Co-op board meeting to take any final decision on, whether to recommend or reject the Avonmore offer. This one could run months.
Still in the food sector, Greencore recovered slightly yesterday but is still almost 20 per cent of its high for the year. Until recently, the market had treated the growers' boycott and the sugar factory strike with equanimity. But there is now some concern at the draining effect of the boycott and strike on Greencore and criticism at what some see as macho management by the company.
New companies on the Irish market are something of a novelty, so the enthusiastic welcome for Qualceram was a good indicator for the future. Between the DCM and the likely flotations of Ryanair and Doyle Hotels, the stock market may look a lot healthier by the end of the year.
Much will depend on the response of institutions, which have regularly bemoaned the shortage of investment opportunities.
