Billionaire financier Mr George Soros, one of the investors in the Valentia consortium that took Eircom private in 2002 only to refloat it last March, has raised nearly €24 million from the sale of the bulk of his stake in the telecoms provider.

Morgan Stanley and Davy Stockbrokers sold 14.6 million shares on Mr Soros's behalf yesterday morning at a price of €1.64 each.

The shares, representing around 2 per cent of the company's issued share capital, were placed with institutional investors, mostly in Britain, according to market sources.

It is understood the placing was oversubscribed. Eircom shares closed at €1.67 last night, up three cents on the day.

The disposal of Mr Soros's shares removes an overhang of stock that remained with the financier and venture capital group Providence after the March flotation of the telecoms company.

Known technically as a "greenshoe", the shares were intended to meet over-allocations, if any, in connection with the global offer and to cover short positions resulting from stabilisation transactions.

They could have been sold into the market at a profit after the flotation if the share price had risen above its launch price of €1.55, which it did not. Instead, they reverted to Eircom's sellers, Providence and Mr Soros, who were prevented from selling them for 180 days.

Providence sold the bulk of its stake in late October, a month after the lock-up period expired, at €1.56 per share.

By waiting another few weeks, Mr Soros has managed to make an extra €1 million from the sale of most of his 2.94 per cent stake. He retains less than 1 per cent of Eircom.

It is understood that, under the terms of the placing, Mr Soros will also retain the right to the interim dividend payment being paid by Eircom on December 17th. The payout of five cents per share will be worth more than €700,000 in respect of the 14.6 million shares.