Esat Digifone will remain Irish-controlled, pledged O’Brien

BUSINESSMAN Denis O’Brien pledged that Esat Digifone would remain Irish-controlled and there would be a three-to-one voting ratio in favour of the Irish investors, the Moriarty Tribunal heard yesterday.

"It has been our goal that the company would remain Irish and that's the reason why we have insisted on these voting requirements for the Irish investors," he told government officials on September 12, 1995, during his consortium's oral presentation for the second mobile telephone licence.

When British Telecom bought out the Irish telecoms operation in January 2000, Mr O'Brien sold his stake for £220m. The joint venture between Norwegian State telecoms firm Telenor and Mr O'Brien's Communicorp Group was announced in October, 1995, as the successful consortium and got the licence in May 1996.