Eircom has denied press reports this morning that it is in takeover talks with Swisscom or any other company in relation to a possible offer.
In a statement issued in response to a newspaper article claiming the companies were in preliminary discussions, Eircom said it is not "currently in discussions with that company (Swisscom) or any other in relation to a possible offer."
Shares in Eircom soared this morning after media reports that Swisscom, Switzerland's largest telecoms company, has contacted Eircom with a view to making a €3 billion takeover bid for the firm.
Swisscom is known to be on the acquisition trail, having made failed bids recently for Telekom Austria and Cesky Telecom. Earlier this week investment bank Goldman Sachs identified Eircom as an ideal takeover target for Swisscom as it fits the company's criteria of generating strong cashflow and is low risk.
Eircom shares soared by 10 per cent to €2.24 as soon as the Irish Stock Exchange opened for business this morning.
The Irish Independentsaid it understood that in recent weeks London stockbrokers UBS and Cazenove had been snapping up the rights to buy at least 100 million new Eircom shares due on the market from a rights issue next week.
Eircom is expected to issue more than 300 million new shares to raise around €423 million to fund the purchase of mobile phone firm Meteor, which it agreed to buy in July.
However, if any investor has built up a holding in the rights that would give it more than 3 per cent of the company, the closing of the rights issue on Friday should trigger a disclosure as the holder will be forced to exercise their rights and buy new shares in the company.