Dutch publisher VNU said today it would pay €185 million to take full control of Irish telephone directories business Golden Pages and issue new shares to finance the acquisition.
VNU has a 37 per cent stake in the business, with the rest owned by Eircom.
The publication of directories is one of VNU's three core units, together with market research and business media.
The Dutch firm said it would issue around €265 million of new shares, equal to about 3 per cent of its issued share capital, to finance the Golden Pages deal, repay debt and for general corporate purposes .
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Golden Pages had net revenues of €61.5 million in 2001 and employs 280 people.