Anyone who purchased Telecom Eireann shares and is prepared to sit on them for the long-term should seek to buy more shares on the stock market, according to BCP Stockbrokers. The brokers suggest that in the longer term Telecom will become a take-over target for a larger European telecommunications company and could generate a further premium on its share price for those who can afford to wait.

BCP says that while the Irish market is relatively small and is unattractive to international competitors the scale of Telecom's operations in the Irish market will nonetheless make it an attractive take-over target.

"The appetite for take-overs in this industry can be seen by Olivetti, Telecom Italia and Deutsche Telecom's recent manoeuvres," it states. If a bid was to emerge, BCP suggests it would be for an amount considerably higher than its current valuation for the company of €4.50 (£3.54).