IIU had no insider knowledge of bid - O'Brien

Mr Dermot Desmond's Investment International Underwriting (IIU) had no insider knowledge of Esat's successful bid for the second…

Mr Dermot Desmond's Investment International Underwriting (IIU) had no insider knowledge of Esat's successful bid for the second mobile phone licence, the Moriarty tribunal heard today.

At a meeting between G&E Davys' Mr Kyran McLaughlin and Esat's Mr Denis O'Brien and Mr John Callaghan, Mr O'Brien told Mr McLaughlin that IIU had no insider knowledge of the outcome of the second mobile phone licence bid.

The meeting took place 10 months after Esat had been awarded the licence and came about because Davys had originally arranged financial backing for Esat in its attempt to win the licence. Mr O'Brien had asked these investors - which included AIB - to step aside so that IIU could take up a 20 per cent shareholding with stronger financial commitment.

Mr McLaughlin asked Mr O'Brien why had the original investors not been asked to improve their financial commitment and if IIU had some insider knowledge about the success of Esat's bid.

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Mr O'Brien told Mr McLaughlin: "IIU had no insider knowledge, nobody had".

Earlier, counsel for the tribunal, Mr John Coughlan SC, said that the consultants to the Department of Transport, Energy and Communications during the licence process, Anderson Management International (AMI), thought that the Esat Digifone application for the licence was one of the best they had ever seen.

AMI had consulted in 120 phone licences including Denmark, Norway and the Netherlands.

Mr Coughlan will continue with the tribunal's opening statement this afternoon.