Just when you thought the Eircom saga could throw up no more surprises, back into the ring comes the battling Denis O'Brien with an offer his eIsland consortium described as a knockout blow. Still sore at the way Eircom totted up the figures in earlier bids to declare the rival Valentia consortium the winner on the back of disputed guarantees on the value of its warrants, eIsland has now enhanced its warrants and put a guarantee on the price they will fetch.

Pivotally, it has also made sure the noncash offer tops the €1.355 per share below which Comsource - the 35 per cent shareholder comprising Sweden's Telia and KPN of the Netherlands - is tied to Valentia's bid.

EIsland insists Eircom has a fiduciary obligation to assess its bid and reconsider its earlier backing for Valentia. Tough talking, but Mr O'Brien and his colleagues still have a challenge on their hands to win control of the company. After all, he has yet to talk with the Employee Share Ownership Trust, which holds a vital 14.9 per cent of Eircom stock and which will, under the Valentia offer, double this at no cost to itself.