Eircom confirms O'Reilly approach

Eircom today confirmed it had received an approach from a consortium led by media magnate Tony O’Reilly.

Eircom said it was in talks with the consortium, backed by international financier Sir George Soros, and that they may lead to an offer for the group.

It added: ‘‘Discussions between the parties in relation to this approach are at a preliminary stage and there can be no assurance that these discussions will result in an acceptable, or any, offer for the company.’’

The consortium said yesterday it was investigating tabling an offer in Eircom, thought to be in the region of £1.6bn.

Tony O'Reilly, executive chairman of Independent News & Media, is acting in an independent capacity with Soros Private Equity Partners, telecom specialists Providence Equity Partners, and investors Warburg Pincus and Goldman Sachs.

Eircom said any deal would be subject to the disposal of its mobile phone subsidiary Eircell to Vodafone.

The group has been the subject of takeover speculation for months.

In February, Denis O’Brien, the founder and former chairman of British Telecom’s Irish subsidiary Esat Telecom, made a second approach for Eircom’s fixed-line

and multimedia divisions.

Last month, another Irish business figure, Dermot Desmond, threw his hat into the ring.

Mr Desmond, an investor who also owns London City Airport, made contact with the board about a possible bid.

Eircom said it remained in talks with each interested party and that it would ‘‘seek to maximise shareholder value’’