Eircom has confirmed that its 14 per cent shareholder, the Swedish telecommunications company, Telia, is to sell its stake. "Telia has been reviewing its position and has just confirmed to us its decision to sell," said Eircom chief executive Mr Alfie Kane. With the 21 per cent stake held by KPN also for sale, some 35 per cent of Eircom, currently worth about 3.6 billion (£2.84 billion), will now change hands. Mr Kane said he would like to see the disposal completed as soon as possible.

"I see no value in sitting around with such uncertainty. We do not want such a large overhang any longer than necessary, but I recognise that it is a very large-scale sale", he said.

Eircom now has a project team in place, working with KPN and Telia and their advisers to find the best outcome for the stakes. This could be a trade sale, a secondary placing of the shares or a mixture of these, Mr Kane said. He confirmed there have been talks with several companies as well as "in the marketplace".

"As part of our ongoing business development, we have had discussions with a number of companies, and we have an underlying need to seek out partnerships, joint ventures and deals with other companies," he said.

"In having these discussions, it is impossible not to recognise that some equity in the group is available. People have asked us a lot of questions. But the decision is not in my hands. "KPN and Telia are selling equity. I am in a facilitating mode to ensure successful sales sooner rather than later", Mr Kane said.

Speculation on a buyer has centred on some of the bigger European telecommunications companies, such as Deutsche Telekom and France Telecom, as well as on American groups like SBC Ameritech and Bell Atlantic.

Analysts suggested that the disposal of the 35 per cent block could be arranged in such a way as to bring in a new strategic partner for Eircom. Such a partner could take a 29.9 per cent stake without having to make a bid for all the group shares, while the 5.1 per cent balance could be placed in the market through a secondary placing.

Eircom management will be hoping that KPN and Telia are successful in finding a trade buyer for the bulk of the 35 per cent stake. Market sources said that, if this happens, there would be little difficulty finding buyers for the 5.1 per cent balance.