O' Reilly Eircom bid may face problems

The fate of the Tony O' Reilly-led consortium bid for Eircom may be in jeopardy because of the number of business interests held by the newspaper boss.

It is reported that O' Reilly's shareholding will be kept under wraps amid concerns by the Tanaiste that may see his Eircom bid referred to the Competition Authority.

O' Reilly is chairman of Independent News and Media as well has non-executive chairman of Valentia.

In addition he has a 50% stake in Chorus, a share of the mobile phone applications developer i-touch and internet portal Unison.