Management buyout team bids €8.00 per share for Irish Continental Group

A management buyout team led by ICG chief executive Eamonn Rothwell (together with David Ledwidge, Andrew Sheen and Declan Freeman, holding around 23.7% of the shares between them) tabled a recommended cash offer of €8.00 per share for Irish Continental Group (Irish Ferries) on 24 July 2026 through the vehicle Bluefin Bidco — a premium of 28.2% to the closing price of €6.24 on 24 July. Equity value is around €1.2bn and enterprise value around €1.47bn; Rothwell realises €90.0m in cash on roughly one third of the team's holding, with the remainder rolled into the acquisition structure. According to the offer document the deal is financed with significant preferred equity capital and third-party bank debt; the Irish Times names BlackRock Global Infrastructure Partners as the equity backer. It is Rothwell's second run at a buyout after a failed attempt some two decades ago. Second source: GlobeNewswire publication of the Rule 2.5 announcement. Update (5 August 2026): Bluefin Bidco published and dispatched the Scheme Document to ICG shareholders on 5 August 2026. The two scheme meetings and the extraordinary general meeting are set for 28 August 2026 (voting record date: 24 August 2026); court sanction of the scheme is expected in October 2026 and completion still in the fourth quarter of 2026. Update (24 Oct 2026): Ireland's High Court has listed the hearing to sanction the scheme for 11:00 GMT on 10 Nov 2026; on 2 Oct 2026 the UK Secretary of State also confirmed no further action under the NSI Act, so that condition is satisfied (ICG announcement via Taiwan News, 6 Oct 2026).