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You are receiving this mail every week as we see you as a key partner and we look forward to continuing to enjoy our journey with you over the decades ahead.
Please find below this week’s newsletter covering the latest M&A, company performance, fundraisings and executive moves.
Deal Details: Donegal Investment Group, formerly Donegal Creameries, is selling its animal feed business Robert Smyth & Sons Ltd and its subsidiary – Burke Shipping Services Ltd – to UK-based Fane Valley Co-operative Society for a reported €17.25m after conducting a strategic review of the business.
Smyths engages in the manufacture of high-quality animal feeds from one of Ireland’s most modern production facilities in Ballindrait, Co. Donegal.
Donegal stated proceeds of the transaction, which is subject to approval by the CCPC, will be used for “general corporate purposes”.
The business generated turnover of €35.5 million and profit before tax of €1.9 million in the year to the end of August 2018.
Advisers: Jonathan Simmons of Investec Corporate Finance acted as financial adviser for Donegal Investment Group while Arthur Cox acted as legal advisers. KPMG, led by partner David O’Kelly, provided buy-side M&A, due diligence and tax advice.
Renatus Comment:This seems like an annuity business that, while doesn’t have exponential growth potential, it is likely to be a very consistent performer regardless of the cycle.
Source: Irish Times
Deal Details: Elliott Baxter (EBB) have acquired UniBoard for an undisclosed sum. UniBoard, based near Dublin, is Ireland’s leading carton board merchant serving the carton print sector in The Republic and Northern Ireland. Its sales totalled €16m in 2018.
The EBB Group will now be the largest stockist/distributer of cartonboard in the UK and Ireland. UniBoard will continue to operate under the guidance of the current owners Myles & Sharon Fitzpatrick.
Advisers: Deal was run by David Ryan and Eliza O’Grady out of Flynn O’Driscoll’s Galway office. Benchmark acted as financial advisers to UniBoard.
Renatus Comment: Similar to the Donegal deal the likely exit for these kind of companies is a trade buyer.
Source: EBB
Deal Details: Irish media tech company Ion Solutions has been acquired by Creative Technology Group (CT), the value of the deal was not disclosed.
CT is a Live Events Company of NEP Group and a worldwide specialist in audio visual equipment and bespoke staging solutions. Ion Solutions specialises in the creative and technical delivery of indoor and outdoor live events, conferences and exhibitions, as well as the design, supply, installation and integration of audio-visual communications equipment, broadcast television systems, digital video production / computer graphics systems and digital signage solutions.
Ion Solutions will now become part of the CT Europe & Middle East group and will be rebranded as Creative Technology (CT) Ireland after a transitionary period. The existing management team of Ion Solutions will continue to run the day-to-day business.
Advisers: Fiona Brennan and Brendan Ringrose of Whitney Moore acted as legal advisers for NEP/Creative Technologies. Flynn O’Driscoll’s David Ryan and Amy Naughton provided legal advice to Ion Solutions.
Renatus Comment: For the first time in a long while there seems to be real activity on people dealing with their succession and either exiting or partial exiting. Based on what we see ourselves coming through the door and what we hear from M&A professionals there will likely be more true SME M&A activity than in previous years.
Source: Ion Solutions
Deal Details: A group of 16 credit unions have announced a €10m collaboration with the Irish fin tech company Fexco in a 50:50 joint venture called Metamo. The initial focus of the venture will be on collaboration between Fexco and the investing credit unions to identify and develop products and solutions required by members.
The credit unions, with combined assets of over €3bn, come under the MetaCU umbrella and represent almost half a million members from across the country.
Advisers: Byrne Wallace’s Neil Keenan with partner Jon Legorburu and senior associate Jonathan Lynch acted as legal advisers to the Credit Unions. Fexco were advised by their in house legal department.
Renatus Comment: Fexco is one of those companies that should be regarded as a bigger hero than it is nationwide. Given its services are not very consumer focused and the private holding of its shares means it gets less attention than other less successful companies.
Source: RTE
Deal Details: CapVest, the London-based private equity company founded by Cavan man Seamus Fitzpatrick, has acquired Young’s Seafood through one of its subsidiaries for an undisclosed sum.
Karro Food Group, a UK pork processor that CapVest acquired in 2017, has bought the UK seafood business.
The new, enlarged group will have sales of c.£1.2bn (€1.34bn) and employ more than 5,000 staff across Britain and Ireland.
Advisers: None mentioned.
Renatus Comment: We have very little knowledge of the Seafood sector in the UK but in Ireland, it is one of those markets that has looked ripe for consolidation. The reason why it has not been done is not clear. I’m sure if it can be done, CapVest will try and do it via this vehicle in the UK and Ireland.
Source: Irish Times
Deal Details: The Gowan Group is to take control of the Opel brand in the Republic via the acquisition of Opel Ireland from Opel automobile. Gowan group owned by the Maughan family, already holds the Irish franchises for the Peugeot and Honda motor brands.
The deal, which is subject to regulatory approval, will see the group assume responsibility for all of Opel Ireland’s operations and current Opel employees will transfer on completion of the transaction. Opel currently employs 30 staff at its head office in Sandyford, Dublin. The deal value has not been disclosed, however Gowan Group is expected to be paying a premium on the net assets of Opel Ireland, which as of the last accounts filed for the company in 2016 was c. €3m.
Advisers: Grant Thornton’s Paddy Dillon & Dave Kealy acted as advisors for Gowan.
Renatus Comment:There is an excellent article here from the archives on on of the best sponsorship deals ever done by Opel’s Arnold O’Byrne sponsoring the Irish soccer team in the 80s and through Italia ’90
Source: Irish Times
Deal Details: Kevin Connolly Motor Group Limited has acquired a Hyundai Garage in Co. Galway. The terms of the transaction have not been disclosed.
Connolly Motors has four dealerships across Mayo, Galway and Sligo. The company specialises in new and used Audi, Mercedes and Volkswagen vehicles as well as parts and accessories. The most recently filed accounts were for December FY17 which showed turnover of c. €77.7m for the group, up 25.0% from a year previous and EBITDA of c. €2.0m, up 8.5%. Connolly Motors is equally owned by Kevin and Neil Connolly.
This acquisition will see the company move into Hyundai and increase the range of its offering.
Advisers: None mentioned.
Source: The Sunday Times
Deal Details: Fispak has been acquired by Irish Flexible Packaging Limited in a deal which will see a consolidation of market share in the provision of packaging to the Irish food service industry.
Fispak has been providing packaging to the food service industry in Ireland, particularly meat, for over 40 years. Based in Dublin, it had net assets of c. €808k in FY17. Meanwhile, Irish Flexible Packaging, which specialises in the dairy industry, had net assets of c. €5.3m in FY18.
Both businesses are now backed by Williams Caribbean Capital Ireland, an investment fund led by former Digicel executives Barry O’Brien and Caran Burke.
Advisers: None mentioned.
Source: The Sunday Times
Deal Details: Luxembourg-based property investment company Aroundtown has reportedly agreed to pay €1bn for seven Center Parcs resorts across Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany from private equity giant Blackstone.
Center Parcs, which is set to open in Ireland at the end of this month looks set to be sold.
Source: Irish Examiner
Deal Details: It has been reported this morning that LovinDublin, the online lifestyle content curator, is exploring a potential sale. The company has enjoyed significant online growth over the past number of years. It is reported that Emmet O’Neill is the principal shareholder.
Source: The Sunday Independent
Deal Details: It has been reported that Uniphar has set July 22nd for its flotation date. Davy have reported that the company is likely to be valued between €368m and €474m. Key executives who look set to enjoy a windfall as part of the floatation include CEO Ger Rabitte and CFO Tim Dolphin as well as the Sisk family who own a reported 12.4%.
As previously reported , the business intends to raise c. €150m to fund acquisitions and reduce its debt.
Source: The Sunday Times
Deal Details: Grafton Group has completed the acquisition of Dutch business Polvo for €131m on a debt-free and cash-free basis.
Polvo reported revenue of €127.3m and adjusted operating profit of €10.6m last year, while it had gross assets of €64m at the end of 2018.
Source: Grafton
We in Renatus believe that more important than the deals are the people and we have teamed up with leaders in this field Korn Ferry to provide you details of key recent executive and board level appointments
Flynn O’Driscoll announces new management structure
Pat Flynn, founder of Flynn O’Driscoll is to move to chairman after 17 years as Managing Director. Under his tutelage, the firm grew from one practitioner to 85 staff across two offices. James Duggan, who has spent 12 years with Flynn O’Driscoll to date, has been elected as Managing Partner. Meanwhile, Gerard Dempsey has been appointed as the Chief Operations Officer.
Multi appoints Pat Nash as Managing Director of Ireland & United Kingdom
Multi Corporation has announced the appointment of Pat Nash as Managing Director Multi Ireland and United Kingdom. Mr Nash has almost 30 years’ experience in real estate asset management in the shopping centre industry in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Before joining Multi as Director of Asset Management in 2016, he was Asset Management Director of Green Property, the previous owners of Blanchardstown Centre. Prior to that, he served as Managing Director of the Irish division of BAM Property and also held a senior fund manager position at Irish Life Investment Managers.
Circle K Ireland has appointed Gordon Lawlor as its new Managing Director & promoted Niall Anderton to SVP role
Circle K Ireland has appointed Gordon Lawlor as its new Managing Director. Effective from August 1st, Mr Lawlor will be responsible for leading the business in Ireland with the Circle K rebrand process close to completion and several exciting opportunities on the near horizon for the fuel and convenience retail space. Having held several management and leadership roles in the fuel and convenience retail sector over the last 21 years, Mr. Lawlor has significant industry expertise. Current Managing Director Niall Anderton has been promoted to Senior Vice President for Circle K Central & Eastern Europe and Ireland.
Teckro bolsters leadership team ahead of expansion
Former Icon executive Professor Brendan Buckley is to join Teckro as Chief Medical Officer. The business uses information retrieval and machine-learning technologies to help make clinical trials simpler and more transparent for doctors, researchers and patients. Prof Buckley held the role of Chief Medical Officer at Icon until 2017. He also co-founded Firecrest Clinical and Open Orphan. Prof Buckley has more than four decades’ experience in academic clinical practice, and has also served in several independent regulatory roles, including at the European Medicines Agency.
Boys + Girls appoints new Directors
Boys + Girls has made a number appointments to its board of directors as the agency continues to expand its business in Ireland and internationally. Joining the board is Aoife Murphy, Executive Strategic Director, Derek Doyle, Executive Production Director and Caroline Keogh, Executive Relationship Director. They will join current Board Directors and agency founders Patrick Meade, Margaret Gilsenan, Pat Stephenson and Rory Hamilton on the board in addition to two non-executive members, Peter Byers and Chairman, Robert Senior.
Arkphire appoints new International Business Development Manager
Irish owned IT solutions and managed services company, Arkphire, has appointed Sarah Holmes as International Business Development Manager. Her role will see Ms Holmes take responsibility for driving new international business for the IT Procurement division of Arkphire. She holds a Master’s in Management from the UCD Smurfit Business of School as well as a Post-graduate Diploma in International Selling from DIT. Prior to joining Arkphire she held business development and sales roles in FlowForma.
EBITDA is an accounting term and is often the best indicator of profitability in non-capital-intensive businesses before financing and tax are considered. In capital-intensive businesses EBIT or EBITDA less average Capital Expenditure are often better measures. YoY is an acronym for the year-on-year movement in turnover, EBITDA, etc.
With its HQ in Dublin, Ocuco creates software solutions for the vision care industry worldwide. The business was founded by Leo MacCanna in 1993 and provided clinical recording systems for Irish optometrists. Today, it serves retail, clinical and laboratory end users in 77 countries. For FY18, Ocuco saw revenue increase by 15.9% to c. €28.7m while EBITDA more than doubled to c. €5.8m. Ocuco has grown through both organic and acquisitive growth as it has acquired and integrated 14 companies over the past decade. The business invested c. €8.6m in R&D this year (FY17: c. €8.2m) and remains on the look out for more acquisitions according to the directors. Ocuco was able to convert its EBITDA to a net cash increase of c. €144k after c. €5.1m was spent on financing activities including the purchase of a business and fixed assets. Ocuco is predominantly owned by Leo MacCanna.
Nostra Technologies Limited which trades as Nostra are an IT infrastructure, managed services and IT security company. In its most recent financial year, the company saw turnover rise to c. €9.2m, up 21.7% from a year previous. Management have said that they expect revenue to be c. €14m next year. Meanwhile, the business turned to profitability this year as it recorded an EBITDA of c. €516k. The EBITDA increase was primarily as the result of flat administrative costs as the top line rose and a gross margin expansion to 32.7% from 27.9% in FY17. EBITDA converted to a net cash increase of c. €268k after c. €139k was spent on intangible assets. Elsewhere, the company spent c. €545k on loan and lease payments which was partially offset by a new loan of c. €667k. The loan was used to purchase EMIT Solutions, a complimentary business with a similar service offering. Nostra finished the year with a cash balance of c. €560k and net liabilities of c. €833k. Nostra is predominantly owned by Kevin O’Loughlin.
Founded in 2000 by Adrienne Stack, Jabez Limited is an operator of 17 community pharmacies that trades under the name Stacks Pharmacies throughout Ireland. While turnover remained flat at c. €25.7m for FY18, EBITDA declined by c. 37% to €1.2m. Management attribute this decline to a difficult operating environment for the company due to a series of cuts, fee reductions, clawbacks and other changes introduced by the HSE in an effort to reduce the fees that pharmacies receive for dispensing medicine. The group employs 204 staff (incl. Directors) at an annual cost of c. €6.9m. During the period, c. €380k was spent on CapEx and c. €780k was spent on servicing debt and finance lease obligations. There is c. €5.3m of tangible fixed assets on the balance sheet, c. €3.9m of which relates to freehold land and property. At the end of the period, there was a debt balance of c. €4.6m against cash of c. €615k. The business is wholly owned by Adrienne Stack.
Based in Tyrone, Linden Foods Limited are an award-winning meat manufacturer. Jointly owned by ABP Food Group, Linden Foods Limited are part of the Linden Food Group, which includes Slaney Foods, Irish Country Meats, Kettyle Irish Foods and Lonhienne. For its most recent financial year, Linden Foods saw revenue grow by 3.7% to c. £206.7m while EBITDA increased significantly by 78.3% to c. £4.1m. The jump in EBITDA was driven by the 23.1% increase in gross profit while administration expenses only increased by 1.8%. The company employed on average 1,170 people for the year at an annual cost of c. £25.9m. There was a net cash increase over the year of c. £3.6m leaving a negative ending balance of c. £11.8m. The most significant cash expenditures during the period included a c. £5.7m repayment of bank loans while a new bank loan of c. £8.7m was drawn down. The company also spent c. £1.1m on fixed assets which was largely attributable to plant and machinery. Linden Foods net assets stood at c. £18.4m at the end of the financial year, an increase of 7.1% from the previous year.
Who: Trifol Resources, an Irish company that has developed and patented a process for turning landfill plastic into wax for use in a wide range of products has raised funding.
What: €300,000 was raised in a crowdfunding campaign in the space of 24 hours this week. They are looking to raise a total of €500,000 from the campaign, which is being hosted on the Irish crowdfunding site Spark.
Why: The money will be used towards boosting production of the EnviroWax solution to 37,000 tonnes a year by 2021 in a move that will see turnover rise to €30m.
Source: Irish Times
Who: Dowds Group, a mechanical, electrical, facilities management and building contractor based in Ballymoney has secured funding.
What: The £4.5m investment is supported by Invest NI.
Why: The funding will be used to create 68 new jobs which will pay an average salary of c.£32,500.
Source: Belfast Telegraph
Who: Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), which has backed some of the world’s top tech companies, announced a continued relationship with the State’s Ireland Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF) to further boost lending in Ireland.
What: SVB is planning to commit €266m in loans and credit facilities over the next five years.
Why: The funds are to help fast-growing Irish technology and life science businesses grow and thrive.
Source: Fora
Who: Beechbrook, a Cork-based lender has launched a fund for Irish SMEs.
What: The €35m fund is also backed by the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF) and Finland-based private credit manager Certior; both of which have committed €16m.
Why: The new fund will target Irish businesses that are seeking funding to support growth plans.
Source: Irish Times
Who: Dublin-based RentalMatics, a company which specialises in telematics software for the car rental industry has raised funding. The software allows global car hire companies to track and manage their fleets in real time.
What: The company has reportedly raised €2m from Colm Menton and Eugene O’Reilly. Mr. Menton and Mr. O’Reilly had previously sold their Irish Europcar franchise.
Why: The purpose of the raise was not disclosed.
Source: The Sunday Times
Who: Buymie, an app which allows you to purchase groceries online and have them delivered to your home. The app aggregates a number of retailers in your locality.
What: The company has reportedly raised €1.6m to add to €850k which it raised last year. This round was led by Haatch Ventures, Ireland’s Halo Angel Business Network and EIIS.
Why: The funds will be used to expand the business across Europe.
Source: The Sunday Business Post
I think everybody in business is keeping one eye on where in the macro cycle we are today. I have been present many times when people ask whether we are closer to 2004 or 2008?
Conor O’Kelly, Chief Executive of the National Treasury Management Agency gave us a sobering reminder last week to be wary with his assertion that he is 100% sure there will be a recession although he didn’t put a deadline on the statement.
In the same vein but much lighter and entertaining is the twitter account called “We are back” @Busttoboom (See Here). It is trying to capture glimpses of deja vu from the Celtic Tiger days.
While the US have all their non-farm payroll data, etc. to rely on to predict where they are in the cycle, the real bellwether we have to rely on will be sales of champagne and helicopters in the sky at the Galway races at the end of this month! Global economists will be tuned into @busttoboom that week to track sentiment !
10%
The year-on-year increase in mortgage approvals in Ireland in May 2019 amounting to nearly 5,000 mortgages to the value of over €1.1bn according to BPFI. @RTEbusiness
204
The number of M&A deals made in the first 6 months of 2019 involving Irish entities, a drop from 260 deals in the first half of 2018. @IndoBusiness
8.5%
The year-on-year increase in enterprise numbers in Ireland in 2017 amounting to c. 271,000 active enterprises in the private business sector, the highest level since the Business Demography series began in 2008. @CSOIreland
4.5%
The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in Ireland for June 2019 down from 5.9% in June 2018 showing an annual reduction of 30,500 of unemployed persons. @CSOIreland
74% & 81%
The respective shares of Ireland’s total service trade exports and imports carried out by foreign controlled enterprises in 2016 amounting to €100bn in exports and €162bn in imports. @CSOIreland
13%
The year-on-year increase in new car registrations in June 2019 versus June 2018, however new car registrations for the year to date are 7.4% down from same period last year according to the Society of the Irish Motor Industry. @irishexaminer
2.4%
The year-on-year inflation in national house asking prices, the lowest level of inflation in 5 years. Dublin experienced deflation of 0.6% while the rest of the country rose by 4.4% according to @DavyResearch and @
49.8
May’s reading on the AIB Ireland Manufacturing PMI, the first time the index has been below 50, which is the growth threshold, since May 2013. @IndoBusiness
€5bn
The expected cost of interest payments on Ireland’s national debt in 2019, down from a peak of €7.5bn seen in 2014, according to the
@NTMA_IE. @IndoBusiness
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