Almost 20 years after Bank of Ireland bought Davy Stockbrokers from its management, the management is hoping to buy it back.

The State's largest and most profitable stockbroker, Davy is involved in about 40 per cent of the share deals on the Irish stock market.

The three men at the centre of the proposed management buyout from Bank of Ireland - Kyran McLaughlin, chairman Brian Davy and chief executive Tony Garry - have dominated the company for decades.

A group of senior executives already owns 10 per cent of the company, but has 51 per cent of voting rights. Bank of Ireland's 90.44 per cent interest is thought to be worth at least €300 million.

The strongest player in the institutional market, the broker has also enjoyed bumper times of late at its private client division. Its closest rival is the AIB-owned Goodbody Stockbrokers.

With assets of €6 billion under management and more than €2 billion worth of property acquired on behalf of clients, it is starting to reposition itself as a broader "wealth manager".

It is believed to have made profits of about €60 million in 2005, although Bank of Ireland does not break out the results for the stockbroker, which employs 430 people.

The Davy client list takes in eight of the 10 largest stocks listed on the Irish stock exchange. Among the big names it acts for are Elan, Independent News & Media, Ryanair, CRH, Kerry and of course Bank of Ireland.

Davy acted, and still acts, as stockbroker to both Fyffes and DCC, and acted in the share sale that was at the heart of the Fyffes/DCC insider dealing case.

Davy was founded in 1926 by James and Eugene Davy. It remained a small business until Brian Davy, son of James and the current chairman, joined the firm in the 1960s. His arrival sparked a move into institutional investment business.

In the late 1960s, Kyran McLaughlin and the now retired David Shubotham joined the firm. Both men ascended the ranks and were close to Mr Davy. Mr Garry joined the firm on the bond desk in 1979.

Davy became broker to most publicly quoted companies in Ireland and became the leader in raising finance and placing shares.

Bank of Ireland first bought a stake in the company from Citicorp in 1988 for a reputed £20 million, after regulations stipulating the maximum stake a bank could hold in a stockbroking firm were dropped.

In 1993, Davy was the subject of Dublin and London stock exchange inquiries into the handling of the sale of Government-owned shares in Greencore. That sale was handled by a team headed by Mr McLaughlin.

In 1999, Mr McLaughlin was linked to a controversial tax scheme in Liechtenstein and resigned from his position as joint chief executive.

Mr McLaughlin rejoined the Davy board in 2004, having resolved his tax issues.

Last year, Davy appointed seven directors to its board, bringing the total number of board members to 11. They were Robbie Kelleher, Brian McKiernan, Barry Nangle, Hugh McCutcheon, Ronan Godfrey, Paul Burke and David Smith.

A proposal by management to buy Davy back from the bank was mooted at the beginning of this year. At that time, a spokesman for Bank of Ireland said it had no plans to sell the stockbroker.

Yesterday it said this latest proposal was subject to funding and regulatory approval and there could be no certainty that a transaction with Davy management would be concluded.