Questions and Answers

Please send your queries to Dominic Coyle, Q&A, The Irish Times, D'Olier Street, Dublin 2 or e-mail to dcoyle@irish-times.ie. This column is a reader service and is not intended to replace professional advice. Due to the volume of mail, there may be a delay in answering queries. All suitable queries will be answered through the columns of the newspaper. No personal correspondence will be entered into.

Eircom

I have not been able to locate my share certificates after a house move and, as a result, I was unable to take part in the Valentia offer. Will I be entitled to any return from the compulsory share purchase?

Mr S.D., e-mail

Don't worry, you will not lose out in any compulsory share purchase. You are a shareholder and, as such, you will receive the same return for your shares as any other shareholder.

The only difference between those who accept the offer and those who wait for the compulsory purchase is the length of time you will have to wait before you receive payment for your shares.

However, it is worth noting that the offer has not yet expired. Granted, Valentia has secured more than the 80 per cent it needs and the eIsland consortium has allowed its offer to lapse. This means that you can still avail of the Valentia offer and ensure you receive your money as soon as possible.

This applies even to people who had committed their shares to eIsland. Now that its offer has lapsed, it has no hold over any other shareholder's shares and investors can reassign them to Valentia. Of course, having the share certificate would help. Still, nothing is impossible. You can get a share certificate reissued by contacting the Eircom company registrar, Computershare, which has an office in Sandyford Industrial Estate in Dublin. As the certificate is a legal document of ownership, there will be some procedures to go through but it can be done.

You could also try contacting the Valentia helpline on 1850 303803, where help might be available in ensuring you do not miss your chance to accept the offer.

Can you explain the difference between unconditional and wholly unconditional? I am confused as to what the terms mean in relation to the Valentia offer for Eircom.

Mr A.N., Dublin

The offer from Valentia was conditional on a couple of factors. First, obviously, the offer was conditional on getting control of a sufficient proportion of the shares. With more than 84 per cent of the shares having been assigned to it by the most recent deadline, the offer is now "unconditional as to acceptances".

What remains is clearance under competition rules. The offer by Valentia for Eircom is conditional on both the Office of the Director of Telecommunications Regulation and the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment.

The Minister has 30 days from the time her Department receives full information about the deal to decide whether to refer it on to the Competition Authority. That time will run out around the end of October.

The situation with the telecoms regulator, Ms Etain Doyle, is less clear. While the the Minister's role is prescribed under competition law, there is no similar stated deadline for the regulator.

In essence, she can take as long as she decides is necessary to sanction such takeovers. However, I understand Valentia has contacted the regulator's office and there is nothing at present to suggest sanction will not be given at around the same time as the Minister.

If the offer was to be referred to the Competition Authority, it would have two months to report back. Only when these approvals are given will the offer be declared wholly unconditional.

Valentia is confident that shareholders who have accepted the €1.365 offer per share will receive their money within 14 days of the offer being declared wholly unconditional. Those who have not formally accepted the offer will have their shares compulsorily acquired but that could take up to four months.

For the moment, the offer remains open even though Valentia has acquired enough shares to win its battle for the telecommunications group.

Mortgage protection

I work in the telecoms sector and, although enjoying a very competitive salary, I am worried about being laid off in the near future.

When I took out my mortgage, I declined income protection insurance (times were tight then), but now I'd like to take out a policy to cover my mortgage repayments if I am made redundant.

To date, I have received a lukewarm response from my mortgage lender, who has suggested I take a repayments holiday if and when I was made redundant, and did not offer me insurance.

It said it could only provide it at the start of the mortgage. Is this correct? Or can I purchase payment protection insurance for an existing mortgage?

Mr J.D., Cork

You can purchase insurance to protect mortgage payments at any time during the life of the mortgage, although, understandably, lenders are keen to arrange it at the outset as they have links with particular insurance groups.

Your mistake may be in whom you are approaching. Your mortgage lender is not an insurance company, although in its case, it is part of a group that also provides such insurance.

What you need to do is approach insurers and see what they are prepared to offer in the way of mortgage protection or income protection policies.

I would caution you that you are likely to face fairly stringent questioning over your sudden need for such protection. Insurance premiums are assessed on the basis of actuarial assessments of the likelihood of certain events.

Any insurer will be keen to ensure there is nothing specific on the horizon that might give you advance knowledge of the need for such protection.

In any case, given the economic downturn and the increased chances of redundancy, you can expect to pay higher premiums for such policies than you might have at the time you took out the mortgage.