No new offer made for Dalata, board says

Earlier this month the board of Dalata rejected the offer of €6.05 per share by Pandox and Eiendomsspar, equivalent to a valuation of €1.3bn, saying it materially undervalued the group.

The offer represented a premium of just over 27pc on the €4.76 closing price of March 5, the last trading day before Dalata announced it was launching a strategic review, with one option being a sale.

The consortium announced on Friday that it had bought almost 1.7 million shares in Dalata, at €6.30. The stock was at €6.38 in early trading on Euronext Dublin today. The company, which owns 55 hotel properties in Britain and Ireland, is also listed in London.

In a statement to investors, Dalata said it noted the announcement by the consortium of its purchase of another 0.8pc of the issued share capital. However, it pointed out that the Pandox-led consortium had not made an offer for the company at that level.

“Since the Pandox possible offer of €6.05 per share approximately three weeks ago, the consortium has not submitted any further proposal to the board,” the statement said.

“Shareholders are advised to take no action in relation to the Pandox consortium announcement. The board continues to engage with parties who are participating in the Formal Sales Process and who have submitted revised non-binding cash proposals to acquire the entire issued and to-be-issued share capital of the group.

“A further announcement will be made as appropriate.”

In accordance with Irish Takeover Rules, the Scandinavian consortium has until July 15 to either announce a firm intention to make an offer for Dalata, whose chief executive is Dermot Crowley, or to withdraw from the process.

Eiendomsspar, one of the largest property owners in Norway, with its portfolio including 11 hotels, already had an 8.8pc stake in Dalata at the time of its bid. It controls 36pc of the shares in Pandox, a Swedish firm that owns 163 hotels across 11 countries in Europe, with about 36,000 rooms.

Based in Stockholm, Pandox develops and then leases hotels to operators under long-term deals. Its hotels in Ireland operate under the Leonardo brand.

The consortium’s bid was unexpected, as it had not engaged in the formal sales process launched in May, which is being managed by the investment bank Rothschild.

A number of American investment firms have submitted bids for Dalata, according to reports by Green Street, a property news website. They are said to include Bain, Apollo and Starwood, which already owns 2.7pc of Dalata through an affiliate.

Several international financial institutions have increased their shareholdings in Dalata since the sales process started. They include the British bank Barclays, the French banks BNP Paribas and Societe Generale, and the international asset manager BlackRock.

The businessman Barry English has also emerged as a shareholder. He already owns the five-star Mount Juliet estate in Kilkenny, Trim Castle Hotel, and the Johnstown Estate Hotel in Enfield.