Negotiations between the Irish telecommunications company, Stentor and another party about a possible takeover were continuing last night with an announcement still some days off, according to chief executive Mr Patrick Cruise O'Brien.

He said Stentor had most parts of the deal agreed, but some issues still needed to be "finally settled". He refused to say which other party was involved.

According to the sources, the most likely partnership is with CableTel, the British telecommunications company, which currently has only a minor presence in the Republic. It offers similar services to Stentor and is also a relatively young company. It said last week that it was looking for a way to enter the business telecommunications market in the Republic.