O'Reilly to re-ignite Eircom bidding

There is speculation that Tony O'Reilly's Valentia consortium may match the latest bid for Eircom's fixed-line business submitted by Denis O'Brien's e-Island group.

Mr O'Brien has offered €1.36 per share for Eircom, but Valentia is understood to be ready to equal that by upping its own bid by nine cents.

However, many observers believe e-Island can still go higher with its offer and that the bidding war for Eircom is far from over.