London giant Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Irish M&A leader A&L Goodbody have scooped lead roles on the first major full European listing of 2004 – advising telecoms operator Eircom on its upcoming e1.2bn (£800m) offer.

Eircom, the Republic of Ireland’s largest fixed-line operator, last month announced the pricing of its proposed float on the London and Dublin Stock Exchanges in what promises to be one of the biggest European listings of the past two years.