All eyes were on Eircom yesterday as the much anticipated bid for the company eventually arrived in the form of a preliminary approach from Australian finance house Babcock & Brown Capital.
Eircom, whose shares have soared in recent days in anticipation of the bid, said it had received an approach from the group, "which may or may not lead to an offer being made for the company". It comes only a few months after Swisscom called off its attempt to take over Eircom after being blocked by the Swiss government.
Speculation about a bid has been mounting since October when Babcock & Brown bought a 12.5 per cent stake in Eircom.
More than 90 million Eircom shares traded in Dublin and London yesterday, with a pretty equal weighting between the two markets. Prior to the bid speculation, the daily average trading volume in Dublin was about five million. The stock ended the day up four cent, or 1.9 per cent, at €2.20, after reaching €2.30 earlier in the day.
Rumours of bid interest may have also pushed up shares of betting shop chain Paddy Power, though it was quick to play down the speculation, saying it was unlikely to come to anything. The talk concerned a Greek gaming group called Opap.
About 500,000 shares changed hands, slightly more than usual. Shares in Paddy Power rose 35 cent, or 2.7 per cent, to €13.30.
The financials were also strong, with positive sentiment surrounding the release of results by AIB this morning.
AIB itself gained 10 cent to end the day at €19.68, while Anglo Irish Bank also did well, adding nine cent to close at €13.09.
Irish Life & Permanent was up 14 cent at €17.99, though Bank of Ireland fared less well, dropping two cent to €14.86.
CRH had a good day, rising 25 cent to €27.10. Elan gave up some of its recent gains, dropping back 64 cent to €11.50, a decline one dealer said is believed to have emanated from the US, where a television host talked down the stock.
