Eir's billionaire owner set to buy out all of French telecoms group

Eir chief executive Carolan Lennon. Eir said earlier this year it had invested in customer services after it was heavily criticised when its call centres were overwhelmed at the onset of the Covid-19 crisis.

French telecoms billionaire Xavier Neil — who controls Ireland's Eir — has made a significant move for his hedge fund to take the Paris-listed telecoms group Iliad private — but the consequences, if any, for the Irish broadband and mobile phone operator remain unclear. 

After multiple owners in the past 20 years, an initial stake of over 64% in Eir was sold three years ago to Mr Niel’s hedge fund, NJJ, and to the listed telecom Iliad, in which Mr Niel owns 71%