Esat directors and net entrepreneurs, Mr Denis O'Brien and Mr Leslie Buckley, are close to finalising a deal to take control of the entertainment and listings website, WOW (What's On Where).

A spokeswoman for the two entrepreneurs said negotiations to take a majority shareholding in WOW were in progress and should be finished by the end of this week.

The terms of the deal have not been disclosed but it is understood the duo will gain control of the entertainment website in return for a five figure sum.

Last June they bought a 30 per cent stake in WOW's parent company, IFTN, an online information service provider for the film, television and music industry.

It is understood that the founder of IFTN, Ms Aine Moriarty, will retain control of the IFTN site following the deal.

The WOW deal is the latest in a series of Internet investments by the two Esat directors. Last year Mr O'Brien and Mr Buckley paid £900,000 (€1.1 million) to buy the Internet recruitment site, The Irish Jobs Page.

Mr O'Brien also holds a stake in the Irish Internet advertising company, ICAN (Internet Communications and Advertising Network).

Speaking to The Irish Times in February, Mr O'Brien said he would invest up to £30 million (€38 million) in Internet companies over the following 18 months.

He said he had assembled the nucleus of a team to assess Internet investments which included Mr Niall Hughes, former head of Hibernia Capital Partners, and Ms Maria Mahon, chief executive of the Irish Jobs Page.