ICG shares fall after Moonduster withdraws

Shares in Irish Continental Group (ICG) have fallen over 24 per cent in Dublin today after the Moonduster consortium announced it was not proceeding with an offer for the ferry operator.

At 2.35pm shares in ICG were down €3.35 at €10.00, a fall of 24.5 per cent.

In the statement Moonduster said it was “not possible to bring forward an acceptable offer in the current economic climate and difficult funding environment”.

Moonduster includes ICG’s chief executive Eamonn Rothwell, the Cork-based Doyle shipping company and Philip Lynch’s One51 investment group.

The failure by Moonduster to lodge a bid by an April 29th deadline set by the Irish Takeover Panel means it is precluded from making another offer for ICG for 12 months.

“Accordingly Moonduster and any parties acting in concert with it will not be proceeding with an offer for ICG”.

In mid-March ICG’s independent directors had called on the takeover panel for the oversight body to issue a so-called “put up or shut up” deadline to Moonduster.

The consortium had sought to agree financing terms with a syndicate of four banks – AIB, Bank of Ireland, Barclays Bank and Bank of Scotland (Ireland).

Moonduster had been thought to be preparing a bid of up to €15 a share, a level that was below the ferry directors’ valuation of the business

Moonduster holds a 41 per cent stake in ICG and is understood to have courted property developer Liam Carroll who holds 29.2 per cent.