Mr Alfie Kane, the former chief executive of Eircom who was in charge when the company was floated, received a €3.8 million pay-off when he left a year ago.
Details of the golden handshake paid by the former State telecoms firm following its sale to the Valentia consortium in late 2001 are contained in the company's annual report. The payments are made up of €1 million for loss of office and pension contributions worth some €2.8 million.
Following Eircom's flotation, its share price subsequently dropped by 40 per cent.
The slump in the share price provoked an unprecedented investor backlash which culminated in angry scenes at annual shareholder meetings, and subsequently led to the acquisition of Eircom by a group of venture capitalists under the chairmanship of Sir Anthony O'Reilly.
Mr Kane, who now works for the US venture capital firm, Baker Capital, would not comment on the Eircom package last night.
An Eircom spokesman said the new ownership had a contractual obligation to honour a decision made by the remuneration committee.
The package does not include Mr Kane's salary for his last year in office before he left the firm in December 2001 or an annual bonus.
These are believed to be worth up to €1 million and will have boosted his total remuneration for the year to €4.5 million.
The payout, which was detailed for the first time yesterday, is likely to enrage former Eircom shareholders who saw the value of their investment fall by more than one-third under Mr Kane's tenure.