Builder Mr Liam Carroll, who controls the Zoe Developments apartment development group, has become the biggest shareholder in property firm Dunloe Ewart after buying another 20 million shares on the market.
Mr Carroll controls more than 25 per cent of Dunloe, assembled for almost £40 million (€50.83 million), and has displaced Dunloe's chairman, Mr Noel Smyth, as the firm's biggest shareholder. Mr Smyth and his wife, Ann Marie, control 22.6 per cent while another property developer, Mr Phil Monahan, owns almost 7 per cent. The remainder is held by Irish and British institutional and retail investors.
The reclusive Mr Carroll has consistently refused to state his intentions towards Dunloe, but the size of his investment suggests he may be planning either to take control or force Dunloe to sell him some of the group's choice sites in Dublin.
Dunloe has property and development sites in Northern Ireland and Britain valued at €276 million (£217 million) and similar assets in the Republic worth €358 million, according to the document associated with the recently-abandoned privatisation of the company.
The assets in the Republic are seen as the jewels in Dunloe's crown, particularly the 1.34 million hectare site on Sir John Rogerson's Quay in Dublin docklands and another 0.7 hectare site at nearby Barrow Street. Dunloe is also a partner with British Land in the massive Cherrywood development in south County Dublin.
Mr Carroll began buying Dunloe shares less than three weeks ago and has steadily picked up virtually every loose share on the market. Last week, he bought the 5 per cent stake purchased the previous week by Dublin investor Mr Tom Jones. It is not yet known who sold the 20.6 million shares Merrion Stockbrokers bought at 50 cents each for Mr Carroll yesterday. But market sources suggested the seller could be the British investment group Sydney & London which owned 5.4 per cent of Dunloe. Mr Carroll can take his stake to 29.9 per cent before he would be required to make a mandatory bid for all the remaining shares at the highest price he has bought in the past three weeks. That highest price is 50 cents.
The other potential bidder, the British group Orb Estates, has so far not shown its hand since it completed a due diligence inspection of Dunloe's books last week. Orb's main interest is thought to be in Dunloe's British property assets and some sources believe that rather than get involved in a bidding battle with Mr Carroll, Orb might come to an agreement to divide up the assets. Any deal will, however, require the co-operation of Mr Smyth, whose 22.6 per cent could be sufficient to block any break-up of Dunloe.
Mr Smyth has previously said he will listen to any offer, having abandoned his earlier plans to take Dunloe private at 51 cents a share - 34 cents in cash and 17 cents in unsecured loan notes.
