So now we know who ran Eircom. It was easier in the old days when, as a semi-state, it was clearly run by the workers. Foolishly, with flotation, investors assumed it would be run by the management for the benefit of the shareholders. It wasn't until the denouement in the saga - over which of its suitors would get the nod from the Eircom board - that it emerged that it was the workers who were still in charge, this time through the employee share ownership trust (ESOT).

Full credit is due to Con Scanlon and his predecessor David Begg. Between them, they turned a 14.9 per cent stake in the company into an effective blocking minority. No doubt, Telia and troubled KPN would have liked to wield as much influence with their combined 35 per cent stake.

As a result of the staff veto, the board was forced to plump for the O'Reilly fronted Valentia offer ahead of an arguably higher bid by Denis O'Brien, who will not look back on this as one of his happiest weeks, all in all. Indeed, to make the bid competitive, the board and its advisers were forced to cajole ever higher "final" offers from the Valentia team during marathon negotiations last weekend.