Eircom's chief executive, Mr Alfie Kane, has warned that uncertainty surrounding the future of the 35 per cent stake in the company held by Dutch firm KPN and Swedish company Telia is an "overhang" which should be resolved "as soon as possible".

KPN's intention to dispose of its 21 per cent stake and Telia's planned sale of its 14 per cent were signalled last November. While it later emerged that Telia was reassessing its decision to sell, the company was now proceeding with the disposal.

Mr Kane said the companies had yet to decide whether the shares would be disposed by means of a trade sale, a share placement, or a full secondary offering.

Much of the due diligence process for each of these options was the same and the companies had not yet made a formal filing on the matter with the securities and exchange commission, he said.

"I would like to see this overhang out of the way as quickly as possible. I don't think it's a good idea to for any company to have an overhang of this magnitude," Mr Kane said yesterday after an address to the Leinster Society of Chartered Accountants.

Responding to an Irish Times report which said the company had demanded the right to vet Government files on its flotation before they could be released under the Freedom of Information Act, Mr Kane said Eircom would oppose the release of commercially sensitive, confidential information. Such information related to the company's plans and strategy, he said.

However, Mr Kane said information on the setting of the flotation share price was a matter for the Government and its corporate advisers at the time and he did not regard this as being the same category.

Mr Kane confirmed that Eircom had initiated discussions to purchase virtual capacity from companies who had secured third generation mobile phone licences in Britain at an auction last month. He declined to reveal who Eircom was talking to.