The Examiner appointed to troubled incumbent operator Eircom, Michael McAteer of Grant Thornton, has revealed that he received a conditional offer for the company but rejected it. Lenders support the Examiner’s decision. Eircom’s revenues in the last 12 months fell to €1.6bn for the year.
Eircom Group has also begun winding up various holding companies, including declaring a Luxembourg company ERC Luxembourg Limited Sarl bankrupt voluntarily.
Two other Eircom Group companies – Eircom Group Ltd and Valentia Telecommunications – have told creditors they plan to be wound up voluntarily. Creditors meetings will take place on 4 May and 8 May for Eircom Group Ltd and Valentia Telecommunications respectively.
More holding companies ERC Ireland Preferred Equity Ltd, ERC Ireland Finance Ltd and their subsidiary ERC Ireland Holdings Ltd, presented a peitition for liquidation to the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands last week.
Eircom’s financial results 2010/2011
Eircom filed financial results for the three companies currently protected under court examinership – Eircom Ltd, Meteor Mobile Communications Ltd and Irish Telecommunications Ltd.
Revenues are down 8pc year-on-year to €1.69bn. EBITDA was down 4pc to €647m.
The company finished the year with €459m in cash.
Total channels, excluding DSL, stood at 1.7m for the year. DSL customers across retail and business stood at 671,000.
Total mobile customers were 1.03m at the end of June 2011.
Obligations to pay €2.5bn for indebtedness under ERCIH Group senior facility agreements and €350m after an impairment review of Meteor resulted in an operating loss of €2.8bn.
Volatility in the pension markets have resulted in a €253m deficit in the Eircom pension fund.
