Eircom’s CEO has decided not to renew his contract with the Irish incumbent and has stepped down from his position.
Herb Hribar returns to the US after two years with Eircom. The board has named CFO Richard Moat as acting CEO with immediate…
Eircom’s CEO has decided not to renew his contract with the Irish incumbent and has stepped down from his position.
Herb Hribar returns to the US after two years with Eircom. The board has named CFO Richard Moat as acting CEO with immediate effect.
Hribar’s departure follows the completion of a strategic review 10 days ago. The board concluded that neither a sale nor an IPO would match its valuation of the operator at present.
Commenting on the CEO’s exit, Eircom’s chairman, Padraig McManus, said: “He has tirelessly dedicated himself to reshape the company … We now operate Ireland’s largest fibre network and Eircom was the first to offer 4G mobile services in Ireland. All of this was achieved while reducing our cost base and improving our competitiveness.”
McManus continued by saying that the “experience, knowledge and enthusiasm” of Moat would keep the business on an even keel.
Eircom began its strategic review in April and was pursuing a dual-track process. The board was reported to be focusing more on an IPO due to a lack of interest from private bidders, but decided against it eventually.
Eircom investors would prefer to “continue participating in the upside from the significant network investment made in recent years, which has only recently begun to manifest itself in the company’s operating and financial results”, the company said.
An IPO this year would have come just two years after the group was taken over by its bondholders, which snapped it up from an administration process. That takeover saw US-based private equity firm Blackstone become Eircom’s largest shareholder.
