Eircom has vigorously denied that it is in discussions with Swisscom about a €3bn acquisition of the incumbent by the Swiss telecoms giant. Eircom is this morning expected to send a message out to the financial markets to affirm that it is “not in discussions with Swisscom”, a spokesman told siliconrepublic.com.
According to media reports this morning, Swiss telecoms player Swisscom has been in talks with Eircom senior management about a potential €3bn takeover of the company. It has been reported that the talks are still at an early stage but, if successful, it would be a significant boon to Eircom shareholders. Takeover attempts, the reports said, typically add about 20pc to the share price of the company.
However, a spokesman for the Eircom reiterated: “Eircom is not in discussions with Swisscom.” The spokesman said the company would be sending this statement to the markets this morning.
Media reports said that a number of operators have been eyeing up Eircom, including Portugal Telecoms. Other speculation over a sale of Eircom includes a rumoured potential acquisition of the company by BT within a year and a half.
Informed industry sources say that any potential acquisition of the former state telecoms operator by another European national operator could run into serious competition issues.
By John Kennedy
