Eir has acquired international sports broadcaster Setanta Sports Channel Ireland Ltd for an undisclosed sum.
The transaction allows eir to significantly expand its TV offering and enhance the range of propositions on offer to customers.
Setanta Sports Ireland offers a range of exclusive sports content in the Republic of Ireland including live barclays premier league Games, every UEFA champions league game and exclusive europa league games, alongside exclusive european rugby champions Cup games and all formula 1 races.
BT Sport channels are also available as part of the Setanta sports pack in the Republic of Ireland.
Richard Moat, CEO of eir, said, “This is an extremely exciting and very important first step for us in television content ownership. We will now offer our customers the widest range and highest calibre of sports content in Ireland. Buying Setanta Sports Ireland is a game changer for eir and is our largest acquisition since we purchased Meteor in 2005.”
The deal will require the approval of the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission together with the approval of the minister for communications, energy and natural resources before completion. Those processes will commence with formal notifications in the coming weeks.
