Irish property developer Sean Dunne is to launch a bid for Jurys Doyle Hotels that values the group at €1.3 billion, it emerged today.
Mr Dunne, who has recently built a 28 per cent stake in the company, is being backed by French private-equity house Orion Capital, accroding to a report in the Irish Independentnewspaper.
Yesterday, a group of investors holding more than 40 per cent of Jurys made a bid to buy out the remaining shareholders at €18.90 a share in a deal valuing the hotels group at €1.25 billion.
Shares in the firm breached €18.90 yesterday and were trading at €19 today.
JDH Acquisitions, the group making the current bid, said it bought shares equivalent to 4.2 per cent of Jurys stock at €18.90 yesterday.
In a statement today, Bloxham Stockbrokers meanwhile said it had bought shares equivalent to 1.6 per cent of Jurys yesterday at €19.20 on behalf of Paschal Taggart.
Mr Taggart is a partner at Cooney Taggart financial consultants in Dublin and non-executive director at Web travel firm Datalex, as well as chairman of the Irish Greyhound Racing Board.
He was not immediately available for comment, and Bloxham Stockbrokers gave no further details.
A source close to Dunne - who is also believed to have bought more Jurys shares yesterday, taking his holding close to the 30 per cent level that would oblige him to make a bid of his own - told reporters Dunne was not prepared to accept the JDH offer at €18.90.
Mr Dunne, who has separately agreed to pay Jurys €260 million for five acres of prime Dublin property, was not immediately available for comment. JDH's purchases on Wednesday take its holding - including shares other shareholders have agreed to sell to it - to 46.9 per cent.
With a share issue pending, JDH, which includes five Jurys board members and the daughters of the company's late founder PV Doyle, would then hold 49.2 per cent.
To succeed, its offer requires acceptances from holders with more than 50 per cent of Jurys.