It has emerged that successful Far East telecoms player Singapore Technologies Telemedia is to buy Ireland’s incumbent telecoms operator Eircom for €130m.
In June, STT originally offered €120m for Eircom, in a move that was strongly supported by the Eircom Employee Share Ownership Trust (ESOP).
STT, which is understood to have interests across Asia and owns fibre optic cable player Global Crossing, has bid €130 to buy Eircom Holdings, formerly known as Babcock & Brown Capital.
The deal is expected to be concluded next week subject to a number of issues being addressed, namely the management fee that STT will p[ay to run Eircom.
Eircom, which has debts of €3bn, still has an integral role to play in ensuring Ireland has the telecoms infrastructure it needs for the future of the economy and it is understood STT has met with the Irish Government about addressing infrastructure deficit.
It has been suggested that Eircom may return to the stock market by 2011 to enable STT to get a return on its investment.
By John Kennedy
