Current Account: Eamonn Rothwell's recent move to increase his stake in Irish Continental Group (ICG) to 7.5 per cent has rekindled speculation that the group could be taken private.

Now that the Smurfit and Green deals have been done and dusted, market-watchers are keeping a close eye out for the next MBO candidate.

Like a host of other secondline stocks - none of which has yet shown any signs of abandoning its quoted status - ICG could fit the MBO frame.

The company is a strong generator of cash, with a cashflow of €31 million in the first half of the year against €24.7 million in the same period a year earlier.

In addition, it has spent heavily on its ferries in the past number of years, meaning it faces less of a burden on the capital expenditure side in the years to come.

The shipping group had almost €50 million in capital expenditure in 2000, followed by €99 million last year. But this is expected to fall to about €13 million this year and €10 million next year, leaving the company with plenty of cash on its hands.

However, the general feeling in the market is that the recent buying by directors was opportunistic, taking advantage of a share price that had fallen to levels last seen in the wake of the September 11th attacks last year.

And given the challenges currently facing the tourism sector, not to mention the threat of war in the Middle East, ICG management may just prefer to keep heads down and get on with running the business rather than going through the hoops of an MBO.