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Digicel rumoured to want Ireland’s Eircom
31 October 2011
Eircom confirms that it received third party offer but does not name Digicel
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Digicel
Eircom
Ireland
Esat
BT
ST Telemedia
Singapore
Caribbean operator Digicel, owned by Irish entrepreneur Denis O’Brien, is rumoured to have approached Irish incumbent operator Eircom about a takeover. Eircom, which is now owned by Singapore government investor Singapore Technologies Telemedia, said it had received an offer from a third party but did not comment on Digicel.
O’Brien set up Digicel in Jamaica in 2000 just after selling his Irish mobile operator Esat to BT. Since then Digicel has expanded across the Caribbean into central America and also has operations in the Pacific.
Eircom has fixed and mobile operations. It was owned by Australian investor Babcock & Brown but ST Telemedia bought it in 2009 for €140 million.
A report in the Sunday Times, which revealed Digicel’s bid, said Eircel has also postponed its announcement on financial results till the end of November 2011 as it is struggling to streamline its debt of €3.75 billion.
Digicel and its owner have won much praise for their assistance to the reconstruction of Haiti after the January 2010 earthquake, in which up to 300,000 people died. GTB