They are trying to buy out a rival, not defending themselves in a US court. Or is there such a rule for takeovers? For how long? Even if such a rule did exist, if MOL wanted EI that badly, could he not instruct his accountants to set up Ryana"e"r Holdings (LUX) Ltd and have another go?
The Takeover Panel rules forbid another attempt within 12 months of a failed/withdrawn bid without approval. Which they would be unlikely to get, as the allowances for it are very specific. So "new bid in January" as claimed is realistically out - even if they got approval, it would take time to get it.
I'm pretty sure there's some Irish Stock Exchange rules on multiple failed bids but I can't find them now.