Eircom weathers rollercoaster ride

Never a dull moment at Eircom these days. As shareholders digest the implications of the firm's decision to enter talks with Vodafone over a sale of the jewel in the company crown, Eircell, Denis O'Brien has swooped for the main part of the group that would remain, the fixed line business.

For the first time in many months, it appears Eircom's shareholders can entertain some notion of retrieving the value of their initial investment in the former State operator. With Vodafone in exclusive talks with Eircom on the sale of Eircell, the only question left is when a deal will be struck. The company's Internet and Golden Pages units are already earmarked for flotation.

As Mr O'Brien says, there isn't exactly a clamour to get hold of what will remain: the fixed line business. Still, he and his fellow consortium members might have to dig a little deeper before carrying off the last vestige of Eircom.

If successful, that outcome will be met with mixed reactions. For shareholders, it means a welcome chance to redeem their investment - especially for that army of small investors whose traumatic experience with Eircom was their first, perhaps last, dalliance with the stock market.

But for staff, things are not as clearcut. The Employee Share Option Plan will benefit from the cash offer for the company but Mr O'Brien can hardly be described as a friend of Eircom. As the founder and head of its main domestic rival, Esat Telecom, he excoriated the former State monopoly at every turn over allegedly unfair practices and unwieldy operations. What he will do to that organisation if and when he gets hold of it will give many staff pause for thought.