Valentia deal with ESOT was rejected by Takeover Panel

THE initial agreement reached between the Tony O'Reilly led Valentia consortium and Eircom employees during the bidding battle for Eircom in June 2001 was rejected by the Irish Takeover Panel.

However, six days later the Takeover Panel (ITP), in a follow-up board meeting, consented to the agreement after receiving extensive submissions and confirmations from one of the consortium members, Goldman Sachs.

On June 1 2001, the ITP wrote to the Valentia consortium and informed it that its proposed agreement with the Eircom's employee share ownership trust (ESOT) was not acceptable because it was an offer not available to all Eircom shareholders, including the 550,000 retail shareholders.