It's difficult not to feel a little sorry for the staff of Ireland Online and PostGem, formerly owned by An Post, but now part of Esat Telecom. As part of the deal, An Post netted 3 per cent of Esat, which has since produced a tidy return for the State postal service in the wake of the hostile takeover bid by Telenor.

For their part, staff members were to receive share options in their new employer as part of the transfer accord. Getting this employee share option plan in place was delayed by the requirement to obtain approval for the scheme from the Office of the Revenue Commissioners.

Now that such approval is imminent, the price of the shares has rocketed due to the Telenor bid, meaning that staff - whose entitlement is to a financial sum in shares rather than a number of shares - will lose out. After all, they will be buying shares at or near the top of the their likely range for the near future, allowing them little potential for profit, diminishing the value of the plan. Such are the vagaries of dealing in shares.