Eircom shares surge on takeover move

EIRCOM shareholders were €330 million better off last night after the phone company’s shares shot up 15% on the back of a takeover approach from Switzerland’s market leader.

The company, worth over €2.5 billion, said it was in takeover talks, but kept the name of its potential buyer - which emerged last night to be Swisscom - a mystery.

Among the biggest winners from the price surge was Eircom’s employee trust, which owns almost 22% of the company. The value of its holding increased by over €70m, representing around €5,000 for each of the 14,000 current and former employees it represents.