If the joint bid from Australian investment fund Babcock & Brown Capital and the Eircom Employee Share Ownership Trust (Esot) succeeds, then the Republic's telecoms infrastructure will change hands for the fifth time in six and a half years.
The 1999 flotation: In 1999 the State-owned Telecom Éireann was floated on the Irish, London and New York stock markets by the Government, realising €6 billion for the State. The group had a turnover of €1.8 billion, debts of €540 million and assets of €1.35 billion.
More than 570,000 small investors bought in at €3.90 a share. Shares reached €5 before collapsing to €2.40 12 months later when the bubble in technology stocks burst.
The 2001 leveraged buy-out: After selling mobile arm Eircell to Vodafone in 2000 the rump of the company became the target of two private equity consortiums, with the Sir Anthony O'Reilly-led Valentia seeing off Denis O'Brien's eIsland, thanks to the backing of the Esot.
They paid €3 billion and shareholders got €1.35 per share on top of the €1.25 a share - in the form of Vodafone paper - that they got from the sale of Eircell. The result was a net loss of €1.30 on the original price paid on flotation of €3.90.
In return for backing Valentia the Esot increased its stake from 14.9 per cent to 29.9 per cent of the company and 25 per cent of the voting rights.
The 2004 flotation: Following a refinancing that raised €416 million for its private-equity owners in 2003 the firm returned to market in March 2004 valued at €1.1 billion. Esop members shared a €66 million payout, and took a 21 per cent stake in the new plc worth €360 million on flotation.
Valentia members Sir Anthony O'Reilly, George Soros and Providence Equity sold shares worth a total of €500 million. Eircom's four executive directors, Philip Nolan, Peter Lynch, Cathal Magee and David McRedmond, reaped €29 million from the firm by the time of its second flotation
The Esot's architect, former Communications Workers' Union (CWU) boss Con Scanlon, currently deputy chairman of Eircom and manager of the Esot, got a pension worth €1 million over 10 years and a lump sum of €230,000.
The company now has debts of €2 billion, turnover is €1.6 billion and assets are €549 million at the end of 2005.
The 2006 leveraged buy-out: Babcock & Brown combines with Esot to bid to take it private again.
