Ferry group Irish Continental (ICG) has said the protracted battle to take it over has so far cost the company €16.5 million.
The group, which is subject to a €612 million takeover offer from management buyout group Aella, made the announcement on the same day that property developer Liam Carroll bought yet more shares in the group at €25 - €1 above the current offer price. This brings his stake to 20.16 per cent and implies that he is unlikely to sell out at the current offer price.
In its interim results statement yesterday, ICG said the non-recurring charge of €16.5 million represents the estimated potential costs incurred by the group to date in relation to the takeover process.
ICG first became a takeover target on March 8th, when Aella, a buyout group led by the current managing director Eamonn Rothwell, offered €18.50 a share for it. On June 14th this was trumped by Moonduster, a rival consortium comprising Philip Lynch's investment vehicle One51 and the Doyle Shipping Group. It offered €22, a bid that was bettered on August 20th by an improved offer from Aella. This latest bid has been recommended by the company's independent directors and is due to be voted on at an extraordinary general meeting later this month.
ICG yesterday declined to clarify what exactly the €16.5 million relates to, though the schemes of arrangement under which the offers have been made all include requirements for ICG to cover the bidding companies's legal and corporate finance costs.
The ferry group yesterday also revealed a better-than-expected first-half trading profit of €16.4 million, up from €2.6 million in the same period last year. Revenue was 15 per cent ahead at €163.2 million. The ferries division, which comprises Irish Ferries and a separate chartering operation, increased revenue by 19 per cent, to €85.9 million, while profit from operations was €12.2 million, up from €1.4 million.
The company attributed the increases to a 19 per cent rise in the number of cars and roll-on-roll-off freight carried as well as the 2006 figures being deflated by the impact of industrial action at the end of 2005. Business was also helped by the reduction in overall capacity as several competitors cut services.
Revenue at the container and terminal division increased 11 per cent, to €77.3 million, while profit from operations was €4.2 million, up from €1.2 million.
Capital expenditure jumped to €51.3 million as a result of buying a new ferry and developing the container terminal in Dublin.
Aella said yesterday that it had posted the details of its revised offer out to shareholders. An annual general meeting and extraordinary general meeting of ICG are scheduled for September 26th at which shareholders will be asked to vote on the scheme of arrangement proposed by Aella.
