Another potential suitor for former State-owned giant

IF BABCOCK & BROWN succeeds with its takeover bid for Eircom, it will be the fourth time in less than seven years the telecom giant has changed hands.

The company made its debut on the Irish, London and New York stock markets in 1999 when the Government sold off its 85% stake in the then Telecom Éireann - the first major privatisation of a State-owned company.

However, while the Government raised more than e6 billion, nearly 500,000 ordinary shareholders eventually lost out after the company's value plummeted.