| Takeover chances at Eircom rise, as Babcock & Brown Capital buy 12.5% stake |
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Babcock & Brown Capital made its first purchase ever since its listing in February, acquiring a total 12.5% stake in the Irish telecommunications carrier, Eircom.
The Australian investment fund group’s purchase has, in turn, ignited rumours of Eircom’s takeover, merely a few days after the Irish firm declared its intentions to strategy to acquire mobile carrier, MeteorEircom received approval last month for selling 313 million shares to current shareholders so that it could finance Meteors’ acquisition worth €420m.
Babcock & Brown Capital have jointly paid €400m for the total 12.5% stake in Eircom. Executive director of Babcock & Brown Capital, Rex Comb said, “We see this as a strategic shareholding in a company with robust fundamental. This is the first investment for the fund after it raised AUS$1bn (€625m) in an initial offering in February.”
He added that he was “optimistic about the fundamentals of the Irish economy and the benefits that flow to Eircom's business as a result of this underlying strength” and that Babcock & Brown Capital was “an investor with long term capital”.
However, Eircom has dismissed all takeover rumours that have been floating around especially with Swiss telephone firm, Swisscom AG. Eircom said that nothing of the sort was intended and it was certainly “not in discussions” with any firm whatsoever for any possibilities of a takeover.
Nevertheless, reports of leading phone company, Portugal Telecom SGPS SA, considering Eircom for an acquisition, have also been doing the rounds lately.
Posted
on : Tue, 11 Oct 2005 04:35 GMT | Investments News
By : Mike Lawson
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