Eircom is finalising plans to raise €1 billion in a September stock market listing that will value the operator at more than €3 billion. The telco, according to the Sunday Times, is expected to take a dual listing in Dublin and London, with the bulk of the proceeds used to reduce its €2.3 billion debt pile.
The Sunday Times also reports that Microsoft plans to hire 225 more people in its European headquarters and research centre in Dublin, taking its total headcount to 2,200 people.
Ireland’s film industry hit by space shortage
Ireland's efforts to capture the $100 million budget production of Artemis Fowl, based on the fantasy novels of Wexford author Eoin Colfer, may be impacted upon by delays in developing new studio space, according to the Sunday Independent.
The paper quotes a number of senior executives in the Irish film industry as saying a shortage of studio space was hitting Ireland’s ability to compete for new movies.
The newspaper also says Bank of Ireland is dipping its toe back into funding real- estate development and construction. It report the State's biggest bank has agreed to partly fund US private equity firm Kennedy Wilson's development of 164 homes at Clancy Quay in Dublin 8.
Vodafone mulls legal action against Comreg
The Sunday Business Post reports that Vodafone Ireland could issue legal proceedings as early as this week in an attempt to force the Commission for Communications Regulation to redress what it claims is an imbalance in the market. It is considering the move following a recent decision by the European Commission to approve the merger of O2 and Three.
The paper also says the National Asset Management Agency lost €200 million on the sale of its entire Northern Ireland property book. Nama sold the loans to Cerberus Capital Management for €400 million less than the discounted price it paid for them. The overall loss was reduced, however, by income generated by the portfolio over the last five years, plus some asset sales.
