The US private equity consortium circling DCC has been given another night to continue discussions with the energy services group as a bid deadline was pushed out to 7am on Thursday, hours before shareholders convene for the business’s annual general meeting (agm). The Dublin-based, but London-listed group said that the Irish Takeover Panel agreed to grant the suitors, KKR and Energy Capital Partners, the additional 14 hours “to allow for further discussions”. “There can be no certainty that any offer will be made. Accordingly, shareholders are urged to take no action at this time,” DCC said in a statement on Wednesday evening after European markets closed. The latest extension was the shortest of three granted to KKR and Energy Capital since it first emerged in late April that they had made a takeover proposal for DCC. Bloomberg reported on Tuesday that the consortium was nearing a takeover deal with the board, which is in line with the £5.7 billion (€6.67 billion) – or £66.72 a share – pitch it made last month. DCC, led chief executive Donal Murphy, said on June 10th that its board was “minded to recommend” a deal at that level, which represented at 15 per cent improvement on the April proposal that had been outright rejected by the board as undervaluing the business. However, a number of large shareholders, have come out strongly against the £66.72-a-share proposal, which also includes the payment of a final £1.47 dividend that would ordinarily be payable next week, subject to approval at Thursday’s agm. Will the State’s plan for the Carlton Cinema site revitalise O’Connell Street? Listen | 25:33DCC’s largest shareholder, Fidelity International, with a 6.9 per cent stake, said two weeks ago that the bid failed to reflect DCC’s real value. Aviva Investors, with a 2.2 per cent stake, and Ninety One, formerly known as Investec Asset Management, subsequently said that they were not in favour of selling at the planned price.[ DCC founder calls for ‘CRH-like’ independent ambition as board nears sale dealOpens in new window ]DCC’s founder, Jim Flavin (83), who stepped down as executive chairman of DCC in 2008 but continues to own 3.2 per cent of its stock, has spoken to a number of publications, including The Irish Times since late last week, calling on the board to resist the temptation to sell, double down on delivering its growth plan, and aspire to become a “world leading multi-energy solutions company”.Flavin said that if DCC is to be sold, the board should hold out for an offer of at least £100. He estimates that the current offer on the table values the key energy business at “only 10.8 times” expected earnings for the current year, which is “a ludicrous valuation”. He said that “a more reasonable” multiple of 16.5 times “would get you to £100 per share”.DCC, whose businesses once spanned Robert Roberts tea and coffee to waste management, decided in late 2024 to abandon its conglomerate roots by putting its then healthcare division on the market and signalling a strategic review of its technology unit that would also eventually lead to it being put up for sale.Led by chief executive Donal Murphy, the group sold its healthcare unit a year ago to private equity fund-owned HealthCo Investment for an enterprise value of £1.05 billion. It also offloaded part of its technology business, with the remainder of that division currently on the market.The energy unit – which spans petrol stations in Europe and liquid gas, to distribution of bio fuels and solar panels – turned in a £554.2 million operating profit in DCC’s financial year through to March. The technology arm delivered a £79.9 million profit.