With his eIsland bid for Eircom firmly on the rocks - albeit cushioned by the €15 million (£11.8) incentive fee the consortium received - Denis O'Brien has been able to devote himself to more modest deals.

However, Current Account hears a lot of talk that Mr O'Brien might struggle to get control of PGA European Tour courses, the golf course operator whose business includes one course leased from Mr O'Brien's Quinta do Lago on the Algarve.

It's almost two weeks since he took his stake in PGA to 41 per cent after buying the 29.9 per cent held by Clubcorp, a move that took place after it emerged that PGA was in talks with Monaco-based waste management entrepreneur David Warren about a bid.

It is generally accepted that the main reason for Mr O'Brien's bid for PGA is to tidy up the Quinta do Lago situation by buying out the leaseholder on the golf course on which he owns the freehold. Most people believe he has little interest in PGA's other courses in Britain, Germany and Scandinavia, and these will be offloaded if his 50.5p bid for the group is successful. But there is speculation that the two other big shareholders, Mark McCormack's International Management Group and PGA European Tour Properties - which holds a combined 38 per cent of PGA European Tour Courses - are playing hardball and will prevent Mr O'Brien from getting to a position where he can declare his bid unconditional. Don't be surprised if he adds a few pence a share to his current offer.