At the end of 2017, Microsoft took possession of its new €134 million headquarters, the striking angular building’s long balconies overlooking Leopardstown racecourse in south Dublin. Two years on, all car parks at the complex display a “full” sign. More than 2,000 people from 71 countries work here. As the company was showing off its gleaming new offices and giving journalists a taste of bread loaves with its logo imprinted in a dusting of flour at the staff restaurant, Microsoft was preparing another, more discreet major move in this country. The group’s ultimate US parent, Microsoft Corporation, had just formed…

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