Eircom bids saga expected to end this weekend

The Eircom bidding war is expected to be settled this weekend.

Denis O'Brien's eIsland consortium is offering two euro cents more per share than the Tony O'Reilly-led Valentia group.

The board of Eircom will reconvene later today after discussions last night failed to yield a decision.

It is understood that both offers include an "optional warrant system" which allows shareholders to keep a stake in the company after the takeover.