The original shareholders in call-centre company Interaction want to buy it back from troubled Newcourt Group PLC.

Newcourt bought Interaction in 2006 in a deal worth up to €18m to be paid over two years.

However, it failed to complete payments before running into trouble.

Interaction founder and director Karl Llewellyn said that the company, which employs 90 people in Dublin, is still performing well in the recession and should be maintained as a going concern. A number of other companies are believed to be interested in Interaction and negotiations are taking place with the receiver.

A receiver was appointed to the Newport Group earlier this month. The company is €36m in debt.