Rendina, the management buyout (MBO) vehicle that has tabled a €2.70 per share bid for Alphyra, said yesterday that its offer was final and would not be revised or increased.

The statement follows an announcement by Benchmark, the US-based venture capital group providing the financial backing for Rendina, that it would not make additional funds available to Rendina to finance an increased cash offer. Sources close to Benchmark, whose European operations are headed by former Esat Digifone chief executive Mr Barry Maloney, said it wanted to clarify its position following recent press speculation that Rendina might further increase its offer.

"They are putting a clear marker down that this is a good deal, a fair deal and they are not going to engage in games. They are keen to move on, whether it's with Alphyra or without," the sources added.

However, Rendina reserved the right to increase its offer in the event of a competitive situation arising.

The closing date for the Rendina offer is next Wednesday, February 26th, but the MBO team still has some way to go if it is to reach the 80 per cent acceptance level required for its bid to succeed.

By the close of business on Wednesday, Rendina had received acceptances of its offer from shareholders representing just 38.5 per cent of Alphyra, marginally above the 38.1 per cent acceptance rate recorded a week earlier.

Shareholders have three options. They can accept the current offer of €2.70, which has been recommended by the independent directors, by next Wednesday. They can wait a little longer and see how things unfold; however, hopes that a rival bid would emerge were dealt a blow this week with news that Euronet, a possible buyer, had acquired British group E-Pay for €70.4 million.

Finally, shareholders could simply refuse to accept the offer in the hope that it fails and the company remains public.