Another contender has fallen in the race to win control of the Jurys Doyle hotel group.
The Irish Takeover Panel has barred Aldersgate Investments from making another bid for the company.
Aldersgate, owned by the billionaire Reuben brothers, had been a major backer of Precinct Investments.
However, despite securing a new backer in addition to Aldersgate after Anglo Irish Bank withdrew its support for a €1.1b (£750m) deal last month, Precinct announced at the end of August that it was ending its chase for Jurys.
The Reuben brothers were thought to be in with a shot at launching their own bid, but the Irish Takeover Panel has now decided that their involvement with Precinct amounted to a co-offer at the time.
It means Aldersgate may not make a bid for Jurys for a year and has been removed from the offer period disclosure list.
By Chris Druce
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