Bill Gates may join battle for Eircom

Skeptic1

This article doesn't make sense. On the one hand it states that the Government have approached Microsoft and on the other hand the article wonders whether Microsoft is acting in concert with Kohlberg Kravis Roberts.

This smacks of a deliberate "leak" by the Government who are under pressure from the business community and the EU for their woefull telecommunications policy.

yossarin

it does raise a bit of a point though - if bill gates were offering broadband would you take it ?

me: ethics ? gimmie !

Skeptic1

Let me think....................eh, yeah, I would take it.

PhilipMarlowe

From today's (27th May) Sunday Independent:

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THE Dept of Public Enterprise has invited Bill Gates's Microsoft Corporation to step into the Eircom bidding war.
Senior department officials are understood to have approached the software giants to consider using the Irish phone market as a testing ground for broadband digital services.
The Microsoft name has emerged at the same time as legendary private equity house Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR) became interested in backing a bid for Eircom's fixed-line business. But there's no indication that the two US companies are acting in concert.
The Sunday Independent has learned that the Secretary General of the Department, Brendan Tuohy, and colleague Denis Gilhooley approached Microsoft with the idea that they would road-test new technologies on Eircom's 1.6m customers. Microsoft is not thought to have had any discussions with Eircom itself. But the department believes Microsoft (worth $380bn) has the scale and technical ambition to join in the running of the company. However, it would be unlikely to do so alone.
Microsoft would also impress Eircom employees, whose 15 per cent ownership is a key factor in the bidding war.
Meanwhile, bidders are preparing for the deadline, which expires tomorrow. The only bid indicated so far is from Denis O'Brien's eIsland (worth euro 1.10 per share).
Tomorrow will also see an expression of interest from the Valentia consortium, headed by the Independent News & Media chairman Sir Anthony O'Reilly and backed by Goldman Sachs.
@STYL cf,plabx Dermot Desmond's International Investment and Underwriting (IIU) is believed to have the support of Boston equity house Advent International Corp, and London's Doughty Hanson.

MARTIN FITZPATRICK
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http://www.unison.ie/irish_independent/stories.php3?ti=41&ca=35&si=441763&issue_id=4554

Stonemason

LOL i h8 the s.o.b but hell if he gave us broadband and pussy whipped the board of governors of eircom in the process he gets my vote.Best bet to see if there is any truth in the rumor is to watch eircoms stock if it jumps either the city has taken the bait or its true hehehe.

My wallet stays tightly shut for the time being

Stone

dahamsta

Eircom don't have a board of governors. You're thinking of the Irish Times.

Lump

GO billy GO......

John

Robbo

Sunday "Independent", part of Independent News & Media, owned by "Sir" Honorary Doctor Tony O'Reilly, also bidding for Eircom...

Anyone else here reckon that this herring is looking slightly reddish?

It really is hard to believe the Indo/S.Indo when you read the Phoenix.

---

Rob.

"There he goes. One of God's own prototypes. Some kind of high powered
mutant never even considered
for mass production. Too weird to live, and too rare to die".