A roundup of today's other stories in brief.
Eircom quiet after takeover meeting
Eircom kept Babcock & Brown waiting yesterday after deciding not to issue a statement in the wake of a board meeting. The board is thought to have discussed the Australian fund's proposals on the process of taking over the company at the afternoon meeting.
The proposals have been with the company for some time and Babcock is thought to be ready to move if given the appropriate signal from Eircom. The company on the other hand is understood to believe that, as of now, there is nothing substantial enough to bring to the notice of shareholders.
Crucially, the fund is believed to have made progress in persuading the worker-controlled trust that owns 21.5 per cent of Eircom that a takeover is a good idea. Together, Babcock and the employee share ownership trust (Esot) control 50.3 per cent of Eircom.
Danske joins Irish Stock Exchange
Danske Group, the Danish bank which acquired National Irish Bank and Northern Bank last year, has become a member of the Irish Stock Exchange.
The move will allow Danske, which is due to complete the integration of NIB and Northern into its network this weekend, to provide its customers with trading opportunities in Irish equities.
Glanbia chief's bonus declines
Glanbia's annual report shows that chief executive John Moloney received pay and benefits worth €642,000 last year, down from €748,000 in 2004.
The difference is accounted for by a drop in his performance-related bonus to €115,000 last year from €221,000 in 2004.
Dragon bypasses pipeline blockage
Shares in Dragon Oil surged yesterday after the company said it had installed a new pipeline offshore Turkmenistan to bypass a blockage that had cut off more than a quarter of its normal oil output for the past month.
The Dublin-based exploration group said that production had been restored following the successful installation and commissioning of a new pipeline.
The shares jumped 30 cent, or 11.5 per cent, to €2.90.
Airtricity closes 125MW US deal
Airtricity has entered an agreement with Dallas, Texas-based TXU Wholesale for the provision of 125 megawatts of windpower.
The power is to come from the Forest Creek Wind Farm, Big Spring, Texas, the first site fully developed as part of Airtricity's $1.5 billion (€1.2 billion) US development plan.
New funding for Business2Arts
The Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism, John O'Donoghue has said he is providing funds of up to €25,000 towards the further development of the Business2Arts training programme.
Adidas raises Reebok targets
Adidas, the world's second-largest sporting goods company, yesterday sought to put a positive gloss on its $3.8 billion (€3.1 billion) acquisition of US rival Reebok by raising its synergy targets for the deal and its mid-term sales goals.
Herbert Hainer, chief executive of the German group, said the takeover would pay off for shareholders in the "mid to long-term".
Reebok suffered a sales slump at the end of last year and a further fall is forecast for this year. - (Reuters)
