Hutch bid EUR2bn for Eircom, sources say

Hong Kong-based Hutchison Whampoa has been named as the firm which earlier this week submitted an unsuccessful EUR2 billion (USD2.6 billion) bid for Ireland’s troubled former monopoly Eircom, people with knowledge of the situation claim. Billionaire Li Ka-shing’s ‘conditional non-binding offer’ for the telco was rejected by the court-appointed examiner Michael McAteer earlier this week. The carrier issued a statement on Tuesday confirming the approach but adding that the examiner decided not to proceed, given ‘the level of the offer and its conditionality’. It is understood Hutch, which offers 3G mobile services in the Republic through its 3 Ireland subsidiary, may make another bid.