Dutch telecoms group KPN intends to press ahead with the planned sale of its 21 per cent stake in Eircom as soon as it has clarity on the position of 14 per cent shareholder, Telia.

KPN said yesterday there had been no change in its plan to sell its stake as soon as possible. The share price fall had not affected that decision, a spokeswoman said. Asked if the sale could be deferred until September in the hope that the price would improve, she said "as soon as possible would not mean September".

But for KPN to sell before the August lull period on the markets, it would need to get a decision from Telia by today or early next week. This is because the secondary offering process to sell the KPN stake is expected to take about 3 1/2 weeks to complete.

Telia is under pressure from Eircom and KPN to agree not to sell its shares for not changed its stance.

Telia said it had made no decisions on its Eircom stake other than that already announced - that the stake would be sold by the end of the year. A spokeswoman refused to comment on the possibility of a lock-in of its stake for an agreed period.

Eircom shares closed yesterday five cents stronger at €2.75 after a difficult week. KPN bought in at an effective share price of between €2.45 and €2.54. To get its 21 per cent tranche away in current markets, analysts say it would have to offer at a discount of about 10 per cent to current price levels.

That make the sale price about €2.48 which would mean KPN could be selling at around breakeven or a small loss.