Decoding the cryptic statements of the Irish Takeover Panel these days is nearly as challenging a task as interpreting Papal encyclicals. With one if its eyes constantly to the High Court, the panel does not always make immediately apparent what it is trying to say.

But a close reading of this week's statement relating to Alphyra suggests that while the panel may have dismissed the complaint against Rendina, it rapped a few knuckles in the process.

After meeting over a period of two days, the panel ruled that the actions of the management buyout team did not constitute frustrating action and refused a request by the New York-based Federated Kaufmann Fund to suspend the Rendina offer timetable.

This came as little surprise to most observers. As one fund manager noted, the panel was scarcely going to be responsible for a €2.70 offer per share for the company being taken off the table given the legal consequences that could ensue.

But any other management team in town mulling an MBO can forget about following the example of John Nagle and his colleagues. The panel made sure to send a shot across the bows of all those involved in future buyouts when it noted that the MBO team's comments that a rival bid from First Data Corporation would be regarded as hostile were "inappropriate".

It also had some words of advice for independent directors and their advisers.

While recognising the difficulties that can arise as a result of the inherent conflicts of interest in MBOs, it added: "In such transactions, the independent directors of the offeree and its advisers will usually seek to establish procedural practices designed to minimise the extent of any resulting problems."

Was this the panel's subtle way of telling Alphyra's two independent directors and their advisers that they should have made clear to management that they were doing the talking when it came to First Data?