ISEQ waits for Eircom, Paddy Power, Elan climb

Eircom is to return to the market in the largest listing in Dublin since the company last floated in 1999.

The telecoms provider has priced its shares at €1.55, valuing the company at €1.147bn.In 1999, Eircom shares were valued at €3.90. Unconditional dealing is due to begin at 1pm.

The ISEQ index was 22 points higher at 5,149 just after 11am. Yesterdays top gainers continued to climb : Elan added another 40 cent to €15.55, while Paddy Power gained 15 to €8.90 as the Cheltenham racing festival is regarded as having been broadly positive for the bookmakers.

MBO target Barlo was up 3c to €0.42. The company is to have an EGM next Tuesday to discuss the MBO which is led by Barlo chief Dr Tony Mullins.Yesterday it emerged that just 36.3% acceptance rate was put forward by shareholders. The offer is now extended until 1 April.

Fyffes surrendered some recent gains dropping 5c to €1.60 and Gresham, where a consortium of investors is looking at a bid of €1.45, added 2c to €1.20 in early trading.

United Drug was up nearly 2%, adding 5c to €2.57, this morning after direct competitor Celesio reported full year results 1.5% ahead of expectations yesterday.

Kerry Group was down 20c to €14.80 as Danisco results disappointed the market. Independent News and Media was the busiest stock of the morning with 1.9m shares traded. The stock was unchanged at €2.04 just after 11am.