Independent Newspapers is negotiating to buy a controlling stake in SwitchCom Ltd, an Irish company specialising in pre-paid telephone cards. Independent said it had signed the heads of an agreement to buy SwitchCom, which claims to be the largest company of its kind in Ireland. Its cards are sold through outlets such as Maxol, Spar and An Oige.

The deal is expected to be completed within weeks. No price was disclosed, but Torc Telecom - which targets the international (rather than the Irish) market in pre-paid phone cards, recently completed a private placing which valued Torc at £8 million.

Independent chief executive Mr Liam Healy said SwitchCom represented "an excellent strategic fit" for the group, which would complement its existing Audiotext franchise and Internet facility.

Independent buys considerable call minutes through services such as Weatherdial. Independent believes that the combined operations will give it more clout in the market. It sells its newspapers in more than 5,000 outlets in Ireland and will be able to use these to help get the SwitchCom product to market.

"This telephony addition to our portfolio will yield significant synergies and ensure that we are very well positioned to offer the real advantages of telephone deregulation directly to consumers - with lower call costs and an expansive range of added-value voice applications, such as the popular Weather Dial service," Mr Healy said.

SwitchCom directors were unavailable for comment, but in a statement, director Mr Herbie Boyle said the intention was to gain a significant market share in a number of telephony sectors over the next three years.

Industry sources said SwitchCom was set up about 18 months ago and described the company as an aggressive player, good at doing deals.