In brief Swisscom has confirmed it's in talks to buy Irish carrier Eircom, continuing an accelerating trend of acquisition and consolidation in the telecoms sector.

The companies have entered into discussions, Swisscom said Wednesday, but warned that talks would not necessarily result in a deal.

Swisscom is Switzerland's largest telecoms operator, with more than 15,000 staff, while Eircom dominates Ireland's market for fixed-lined phone services. It is believed that any deal would be in the region of £2bn (€3bn).

A deal would follow Spanish carrier Telefonica's £17bn (€25bn) offer for O2.®