Eircom set to buy Meteor

EIRCOM became the last man standing in the race to buy Meteor yesterday after smaller rival Smart Telecom said it was no longer interested in the country's third mobile operator.

Smart, which had teamed up with British mobile brand Virgin to consider making a bid, dropped out just a week after the only other prospective buyer, a Denis O'Brien-headed consortium, said the asking price was too high. Eircom is believed to have tabled a bid of more than €410 million but has consistently declined to comment on its involvement in the sale process.

Smart said it had formed the view that there was no upside in buying Meteor at the price demanded and also blamed a lack of detailed information that would be necessary for bidders to get comfortable with the business.