Recticel last week rejected a 700 million euro bid for its two main foam and insulation businesses, and disclosed that Kingspan had also approached it in relation to a possible offer for the entire group.

Kingspan chief executive Gene Murtagh told the company's annual shareholder meeting that it had twice reached provisional agreement with Recticel before the rejection: "It would have been a nice bolt on, but it wasn't to be," he said.

(Reporting by Padraic Halpin. Editing by Jane Merriman)