Goldman Sachs, the investment bank which led the €1.15 billion re-flotation of Eircom in March, has acknowledged it made an embarrassing error over the company's nationality, writes John McManus.

Goldman issued a statement to the stock exchange yesterday stating it had an interest in 44.5 million shares in Eircom last March. It said that it had not notified its interest in the shares earlier because it thought Eircom was an Irish company, when in fact it is registered in England.

"Unfortunately we were informed that Eircom plc was incorporated in Ireland, and under Irish legislation, no disclosure was required. However, it has now been brought to our attention that the company is actually incorporated in England and Wales and hence disclosure is required," the statement said.

The ownership of Eircom was transferred to a UK shelf company in July 2003 as part of a financial restructuring. The decision was taken in order to avail of the more flexible laws in the UK covering the distribution of dividends.

The venture capital firms and banks which owned Eircom at the time - including Goldman Sachs - shared a dividend of €446 million at the time, which was paid following the refinancing.

Goldman Sachs is currently advising the Government on the strategic options for Aer Lingus.