The ownership of Eircom has been transferred out of the State to facilitate a €446 million dividend payment to its British, Irish and US shareholders.
The former State firm, which owns most of Ireland telecommunications infrastructure, is now owned by a UK-based €2 shelf firm Valentia Holdings Ltd, documents filed with Companies House, the UK company registration office, show.
Eircom's owners have based the shelf company in Britain to avail of less stringent company law in certain areas which will allow a more flexible distribution of dividend payments. This should enable Valentia Holdings to avail of a more favourable accounting treatment when it distributes a huge €446 million dividend to its shareholders in the coming weeks.
Mr David McRedmond, Eircom's director of strategy, said this type of corporate restructuring was "very typical" in a refinancing.
He said the change of jurisdiction of Eircom's parent would not affect the regulation or operation of the company.
Valentia Holdings was set up earlier this month to acquire the share capital of the Irish-registered firm Valentia Telecommunications, which a consortium, led by Sir Anthony O'Reilly, used to acquire Eircom in mid-2001.
The entire share capital of the company is €2, divided into 2,000 ordinary shares of €0.001 each.
Sir Anthony and the other shareholders in Valentia will recover almost half the €1 billion equity they used to buy Eircom in 2001 through the €446 million dividend, which will be paid following a bond issue next week.
Eircom's shareholders include Providence Equity Partners; Soros Private Equity Partners; Sir Anthony O'Reilly; and Eircom staff through the Employee Share Ownership Trust.