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Valentia to buy Eircom
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July 2, 2001: 3:51 a.m. ET
Irish telecoms operator agrees Valentia's 2.8 billion euro offer
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LONDON (CNN) - Irish telecoms operator Eircom says it has agreed to be bought by the Valentia group for 2.8 billion euros ($2.4 billion) in cash.
Valentia is headed by Irish media magnate Tony O'Reilly and its backers include financier George Soros and U.S. investment bank Goldman Sachs.
Valentia is offering shareholders  1.32 per share over time, including a cash payment of 1.25 per eircom share, along with other benefits. Shareholders can also choose a cash offer of 1.27 per share.
Valentia and Eisland have been battling for control of the former Irish state telecoms company since October last year, before the Dublin-based company sold its wireless operator Eircell to Vodafone, the world's biggest mobile phone company, for more than $4 billion.
Eircom chairman Ray MacSharry said in a statement: "The Independent Directors of Eircom intend unanimously to recommend that shareholders accept the Valentia offer, because we believe... that it is in their best interests."
Eircom controls more than 80-percent of the fixed-line business in Ireland, with more than 1.8 million phone channels connected to its network, and despite signs of a European-wide economic slowdown, the country still has the fastest growing economy in the 12-nation euro zone. 
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