Australian investment firm Babcock & Brown Capital Limited and its associates have bought shares representing around 12.5 per cent of Eircom, it said today.
The purchase comes days after shares in Eircom jumped following a report, which Eircom later denied, that Swiss telecoms company Swisscom had held talks with it on making a €3.0 billion bid for the group.
"We are optimistic about the fundamentals of the Irish economy and the benefits that flow to Eircom's business as a result of this underlying strength," Rex Comb, executive director of Babcock & Brown Capital, said in a statement.
"Babcock & Brown Capital is an investor with long term capital," the statement added.
The Australian group said it believed Eircom's management has made the right strategic move by agreeing to buy local mobile carrier Meteor.
"As a first investment for Babcock & Brown Capital, we see this as a strategic shareholding in a company with robust fundamentals and a positive outlook which is not fully recognised by the market at the present time," it added.
Shares in Eircom were down 10 cent to €2.11 in Dublin this afternoon - a fall of 4.5%