Shares in Esat Telecom gained 2.68 per cent on the Nasdaq exchange yesterday, gaining $2.37 1/2 on the day to finish at $91.12 1/2 following speculation that another company may yet emerge to bid against Telenor for the Irish company.
Esat, which is fighting a $1.9 billion (€1.8 billion) hostile bid by the state-owned Norwegian telecoms company Telenor, declined to comment on the speculation. Telenor's current bid values the Irish company at $85 per American Depository Share or $42.5 per Esat share. Esat claims the bid fundamentally undervalues the firm.
One company believed to have been approached is Anglo-American cable company NTL, which bought Cablinelink last year. An NTL spokesman declined to comment on the speculation. But it is understood Esat has approached NTL and it is considering a bid. But it is thought unlikely the firm would make a formal offer.
Telenor executives are believed to consider the reports as "speculative".
An Esat spokesman confirmed it was involved in discussions with third parties. Several informal approaches had been received, he said, and the company's board had authorised it to approach other firms.
The company is expected to release headline details of its 1999 fourth quarter results to shareholders next Tuesday, some weeks before it was planned initially. Results for the first three-quarters of 1999 had shown an improvement on the same period in 1998 and the company said its £115 million acquisition of PostGem/Ireland On-Line last September would benefit its fourth quarter performance.
The time limit for Telenor's first bid closes next Friday, January 14th, although the Norwegian firm has the option to extend its offer until February 1st. The company is understood to have considered this at a meeting yesterday.
