Precinct Investments has secured fresh funding from HBOS for a takeover bid for the Jurys Doyle Group, industry sources said today.
Precinct, headed by Irish property developer Brian Cullen and backed by British billionaires Simon and David Reuben, was forced to abandon its takeover efforts after Anglo Irish Bank cut off financial support last Thursday.
The Jurys board subsequently withdrew its support for the takeover proposal - the fourth made by Precinct in recent months - and terminated the due diligence process being carried out by the consortium.
Analysts said time remained tight for Precinct, which faces a September 2nd deadline set by regulators to either make a concrete bid for Jurys or walk away.
"They need an extension (to the deadline) before Friday because I don't think they can finish due diligence by then - they've lost a few days," said Brid White, analyst at Merrion Stockbrokers in Dublin. "They need to move quickly."
She said Precinct might find it harder this time around to secure support for its offer after property developer Sean Dunne raised his stake in the company to 18.2 per cent last week, making him the biggest single shareholder.
Mr Dunne's stake in combination with more than 30 per cent held by two other shareholders hostile to the approach represents a substantial potential blocking vote.
Mr Dunne agreed in July to buy 4.85 acres of prime property in Ballsbridge from Jurys for €260 million , a deal shareholders are due to vote on at an extraordinary meeting next month.
Shares in Jurys were up 0.3 per cent at €17.10 by 8:30am in Dublin.