The £600 million-plus takeover of Woodchester Investments by General Electric Capital is understood to be imminent and an announcement of the takeover may be made as early as today.

The takeover will be the biggest ever of an Irish public company and will be GE Capital's second takeover in Ireland, following its rescue of aviation finance group GPA three years ago.

The announcement is expected to be by way of a statement that GE Capital has agreed to buy Credit Lyonnais's controlling 54 per cent shareholding in Woodchester and that a mandatory offer will be made to the minority shareholders on the same terms.

Under Stock Exchange rules, GE Capital could look for a "whitewash" that would remove the obligation to bid for the minority shareholdings but the American group is not expected to look for such a dispensation.

The exact price GE Capital will pay for Woodchester is not yet known, but the shares have been trading steadily in recent weeks at 260p to 265p, valuing Woodchester at £577 million.

Industry sources believe that GE Capital will probably offer somewhat more than the current market price to try and ensure that the minority shareholders - mainly institutions - who hold 46 per cent of Woodchester do not frustrate the bid.

Other than Credit Lyonnais, the main institutional shareholders in Woodchester are Irish Life, Standard Life, Bank of Ireland Asset Management, AIB Investment Managers, Fidelity, Scottish Provident and Norwich Union.

It is understood that the terms of the takeover will involve Mr Craig McKinney remaining as chief executive, although GE Capital is likely to appoint a chairman. Mr McKinney - who set up Woodchester 15 years ago to lease office equipment - will be one of the major beneficiaries from the takeover and his 2.6 million shares are worth £7 million at the current market price, while he could earn a further £800,000 on exercising options.