CLEARLY, Waterford Co-op and its little brother Waterford Foods are not going to be rushed into making any quick decision on the unwelcome takeover bid from their Avonmore brethren across the Suir.

The Margin hears that no fewer that 45 points of clarification were sought from Avonmore and advisers IBI after last Friday's board meeting of Waterford Co-op.

It now seems it will he well into next week before the Waterford board gets its responses to the questions which are thought to straddle virtually every item in the Avonmore proposal.

The betting is still that the local aversion to the Dublin stockbroker types and bankers who have bankrolled most of Waterford's less than successful expansion - and suspicion of the folk in Kilkenny make the 75 per cent voting requirement from co op shareholders a long shot.