Dear Reader,
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: OQEMA AG has taken over the chemical distributor and manufacturer Rocara, and will integrate the companies into the OQEMA Group. The financial details of the deal were not disclosed.
Rocara, founded in 2006 by equal shareholders Karl Carpenter and Jonathan Morrow, provides a wide range of general and speciality chemicals, solvents and surfactants. They have operations in Belfast and Dublin.
Oqema is one of the top-five chemical distribution companies for commodities and specialities in Germany.
Advisers: Rocara was advised by Tara Keane and Cian O’Leary of Flynn O’Driscoll (Legal) and Benchmark (Financial).
Oqema was advised by Penningtons (Legal) and GT Dublin (Financial).
Renatus Comment:
The shareholders of Rocara have an average age of 50 so this looks less like a retirement plan than other trade exits often do.
Source: Oqema Press Release
Deal Details: Trinity Care, has acquired AnovoCare Nursing Home in Swords, Co. Dublin for an undisclosed sum.
AnovoCare Nursing Home was built in 2015 and has 89 beds and 90 staff members.
Trinity Care provides award winning private residential, convalescent and rehabilitative care at purpose-built homes in Dublin, Kildare, Meath, Louth, and Cavan. The acquisition brings Trinity Care’s total number of nursing homes to seven with over 500 beds.
Advisers: Trinity Care was banked by Kevin Healy and Hilary Coates in BOI Corporate (Financial) and Shaun O’Shea and Gerry Gallen in Beauchamps Solicitors (Legal).
Renatus Comment:
Writing this column Financial Services seemed to be the hot M&A sector in H1 and nursing Homes feel like they will get the gong for H2.
Source: Trinity Care
Deal Details: Irish financial services company Finovation has been acquired by Legal & General for an undisclosed sum.
Finovation, trading as My Future Now, helps people keep track of their pension pots and consolidate them, using personal data and employment details.
Legal & General Retail Retirement is a British multinational financial services company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. Its products and services include investment management, lifetime mortgages, pensions, annuities, life assurance, and general insurance.
Advisers: None mentioned.
Renatus Comment:
Finovation is a success story for Dogpatch labs and was Enterprise Ireland backed. Alan Browne founder is by far the biggest individual beneficiary of the transaction. He is going to stay on leading the company according to the press release.
Source: Legal & General Press Release
Deal Details: Loyola Groups ‘The Jar’ pub has been sold to Linnane Group for an undisclosed sum.
The Jar was a stand alone equal investment between Loyola Group and Kilcullen Capital. The Loyola Group own other venues including the Landmark, The Bath, The Old Spot, The Leopardstown Inn, Bakers Corner and the Cheeky Pup in Quinta do Lago. They also co own Base Wood Fire Pizza.
Linnane group own other venues such as the Dawson Lounge, Fallons Pub and the Belfry.
Advisers: Flynn O’Driscoll’s team provided sell side legal advice and Gartlan Furey provided legal advice to Linnane Group.
Renatus Comment:
The Loyala team acquired a nice stable of assets when value was to be had in the sector including but not limited to Base Pizza, The Lep Inn, Bakers Corner, The Old Spot, The Bath Pub, The Cheeky Spot and The Landmark.
Source: Loyola Group
Deal Details: Belfast-based care provider Connected Health is to create 200 jobs in Ireland after acquiring a controlling interest in Dublin-based Home Care Plus for an undisclosed sum.
Home Care Plus is a Dublin-based care provider, providing care and support in the home to all age groups both on a short-term or long-term basis. The company currently employs 160 people although the acquisition will more than double staff numbers over the next 12 months.
Connected Health provides effective and efficient high-quality healthcare services in the home and the community, with over 600 community care workers employed who provide tailored care services to over 1200 clients.
Advisers: None mentioned
Source: Offaly Express
Deal Details: Henderson Park reached an agreement to acquire Irish commercial property group Green Reit on Wednesday in a deal valuing the company at €1.34 billion.
Green Reit is one of the largest property investment firms in Ireland, founded by Stephen Vernon and Pat Gunne. The company’s property portfolio is an estimated €1.6bn and rent roll amounts to €77.1m a year.
Henderson Park was set up by former Goldman Sachs and Mount Kellett partner Nicholas Weber three years ago. It entered the Irish market in recent months, teaming up with developer Joe O’Reilly’s Chartered Land in May to buy Heuston South Quarter in Dublin from US property group Marathon Asset Management for €222m.
Advisers: PwC Tax led by Ronan MacNioclais advised Henderson Park on the acquisition of Green REIT PLC
Renatus Comment: Both Stephen Vernon and Pat Gunne have proven clever in the past with the timing of their arrivals and departures from the Irish commercial real estate market. They established Green Reit in 2013 just as property values were starting to recover from the crash and went on to sell Blanchardstown Shopping Centre in 2016 for €1bn.
Source: Irish Times
Valeo Foods to buy Kettle Foods
Deal Details: Valeo Foods is understood to be in exclusive talks with Campbell Soup to buy the UK and Irish arm of the company behind Kettle crisps and Metcalfe popcorn for more than €54m.
Dublin-based Valeo Foods was founded in 2010 with backing from Cavan dealmaker Seamus Fitzpatrick’s Capvest. Valeo’s annual sales are more than €870m, while Kettle’s sales last year were about £51m (€55m).
Source: Irish Times
Ovo Energy to buy SSE’s supply division
Deal Details: Ovo Energy, founded by Belfast man Stephen Fitzpatrick, plans to pay £250m (€272m) upfront, with the promise of further payments, for SSE’s electricity and gas supply business.
Ovo Energy launched in 2009, was set out to make energy cheaper, greener, and simpler by blending natural energy with smart technology for better service and renewable electricity.
A deal with Ovo would mark the end of SSE’s attempts to offload the division and focus on generating and distributing energy. Profits at its supply arm dropped from £260m (€283m) to £84m (€91m) last year.
Source: Belfast Telegraph
Press Up Entertainment to offload a 45% stake
Deal Details: Irish hospitality group Press Up Entertainment, which is owned by Paddy McKillen jnr and other investors, is looking to raise funding.
Press Up’s owners are seeking to secure €45m – €50m for a 45% stake in the group, a figure that is based on the chain’s enterprise value of c. €100m.
Stockbroker Goodbody, which is advising the company on the process, is believed to have received first-round bids two weeks ago from several international parties for the shareholding in the fast-growing pub and restaurant chain.
Source: Irish Times
Kilkenny Group is seeking acquisitions
Deal Details: Irish retailer the Kilkenny Group is seeking acquisitions, having bought Sammy’s Restaurant and Retail Store in Kerry earlier this year. This was the company’s second ever transaction and reflects a growing emphasis on food by the group.
Source: Irish Independent
NCPS takeover by APCOA
Deal Details: The proposed acquisition of Nationwide Controlled Parking Systems Limited by APCOA Parking Holdings GmbH has been cleared by the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission.
NCPS manages more than 100,000 car parking spaces at over 1,100 locations and has a turnover of about €15 million and employs 130 staff.
APCOA PARKING is already active in Ireland and runs car parks at more than 700 locations, including Jervis Street in Dublin.
Source: CCPC
Lloyds Pharmacy acquisition of Median Healthcare and BOFH holdings
Deal Details: The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission cleared the
proposed transaction, whereby LloydsPharmacy Ireland Limited would acquire sole control of Median Healthcare Services Unlimited Company and BOFH Holdings Unlimited Company.
Source: CCPC
UK regulator clears IFG takeover
Deal Details: The acquisition of Irish and London-listed financial services firm IFG to private equity firm Epiris GP has been approved by the Financial Conduct Authority in the UK. The deal is valued at c. €222m (£206m).
Source: IFG Press release
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
Central Bank Appoints Chief Information Officer & Director of Insurance Supervision
The Central Bank has appointed Louise Dennehy as its new Chief Information Officer. Ms Dennehy has over 20 years’ experience in IT within the financial services industry, including a number of Head of IT roles. She has been leading the IT Delivery Division since she joined the Central Bank in 2017. The CIO is a member of the Senior Leadership Team of the Central Bank. Domhnall Cullinanhas been appointed as the new Director of Insurance Supervision. Mr Cullinan has over 25 years’ experience in the financial services industry. He will lead the delivery of intrusive supervision of insurance firms operating in Ireland. He is currently Head of Insurance Supervision in the Central Bank and will take up his new role from the 1st of September.
DWF appoints new banking and finance partner in Dublin
Global legal business DWF has announced the appointment of Ruairí Mac Cumhaill as a banking and finance partner in Dublin. Mr Mac Cumhaill has more than 11 years’ experience working with domestic and international financial institutions, alternative lenders and borrowers operating in Ireland, and joins DWF from William Fry.
AMX appoints chief compliance officer for Irish market
The Asset Management Exchange (AMX), an institutional platform for investors and asset managers, has announced the appointment of Larry Morrissey as chief compliance officer for AMX Ireland. Mr Morrissey will be based at offices in Cork, Ireland and be the designated person with responsibility for regulatory compliance at AMX Ireland. He joins from MPMF Fund Management (Ireland) Limited (MPMF) where he served for three years as senior vice president and acted in various compliance roles on behalf of a number of large institutional clients.
Diaceutics appoints Head of Global Data
Diaceutics PLC, (AIM: DXRX), a provider of data analytics and implementation services to the global pharmaceutical industry, has appointed Derek Hosty as Head of Global Data. Prior to this new role in Diaceutics, Mr Hosty was General Manager for Cloud and Data at Irish software provider Openet. He was also Director of Technology Strategy for Data and Analytics at Norwegian telecommunications provider, Telenor Group.
New non-executive director appointed at Greencoat
The board of directors at Greencoat UK Wind has appointed Caoimhe Giblin as a non-executive director of the Company. Ms Giblin will also be a member of the Company’s Audit, Management Engagement and Nominations Committees. Her appointment will be effective from 1st September 2019. Ms Giblin has extensive experience in the electricity industry sector, having spent seven years with SSE Renewables working in finance and mergers and acquisitions, three years with Airtricity and from 2014 she has been Head of Client Services for ElectroRoute Holdings Ltd. In 2018 she was elected to sit on the Irish Wind Energy Association Council. Ms Giblin is a Chartered Accountant, having trained and spent six years working with KPMG.
Scottish Building Society appoints new independent non-executive director
Former Barclay’s Ireland CEO, Andrew Hastings, has been appointed to the board of the Scottish Building Society. Mr Hastings holds directorships at Pepper Finance, Elavon and the ESB. He is the former Chair of the Irish Banking & Payments Federation.
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.
Lucey Transport Logistics began life as one truck delivering tea, sugar and animal feedstuffs around the Cork area almost 90 years ago has now grown to operate in excess of 130 commercial vehicles, employing 135 people nationwide. For FY18, the business saw revenue grow by 8.9% to c. €20.1m while EBITDA increased by 31.3% to c. €2.6m as gross margins increased from 10.5% to 11.9%. There was a net cash decrease for the year of c. €1.4m after a share redemption of c. €2.7m and significant working capital movements. Lucey Transport Logistics is still owned by Lucey family members Ronan, Kevin and Juan and finished FY18 with net assets of c. €14.7m.
Founded by Brian McCloskey in 1987, Woodland has established itself as one of the leading manufacturers of kitchen, bathroom and bedroom furniture on the Island of Ireland. In their most recent financial year, Woodland’s revenue increased by 66.2% to c. £19.6m and EBITDA followed suit with a 26.2% increase to stand at c. £1.7m. Despite the positive top line and EBITDA movement, the business recognised a c. £1.1m decrease in cash over the year. Investments of c. £950k and c. £673k in freehold property and plant & machinery were the most significant drains on cash as the business chose to invest in future growth. A loan repayment of c. £612k was also made. Woodland had net assets of c. £4.3m at the end of the financial year and is owned by Brian and Gloria McCloskey.
Blue Insurance specialise in a range of insurance products including car, home, travel, pet and gadgets to name a few. The business has offices in Blanchardstown, Dublin and Cardiff in Wales. For FY18, the business experienced strong growth as revenue increased by 14.5% to c. €14.5m while EBITDA increased by 12.3% to c. €5.1m at an EBITDA margin of 35.4%. Blue Insurance’s revenue is the fees and commissions earned by the company. Staff costs were Blue’s biggest operational expense as their 80 employees cost c. €4.0m during FY18. Blue’s cash balance increased by c. €4.0m to a total ending balance of c. €7.5m as there was strong cash conversion from EBITDA during the year. Blue Insurance had net assets of c. €5.2m. |
Who: Project Ireland 2040 fund, run by the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation, administered by Enterprise Ireland, has been launched.
What: The Disruptive Technologies Innovation Fund is a €500m fund established under Project Ireland 2040.
Why: The fund is looking for collaborations between ambitious companies, and research-based entities and universities, to develop interesting ideas around disruptive technologies.
Source: Irish Independent
As discussed last week, in spite of betting markets failing to call the original Brexit vote or Trump’s election we remain believers that it is one of the better guides to probabilities of outcomes of events. So we are starting a weekly tracker using odds from oddschecker and taking off bookmakers margin to come up with deemed percentage probability of outcomes and the current markets read as follows:
7.5% chance of a second referendum (12/1)
67% chance of a Brexit of some sort achieved by Christmas this year – this has shortened in price (4/7)
42% chance(unchanged) of a no deal Brexit this year (i.e. leaving without withdrawal agreement in place) (7/5)
86%(from 79%) chance of a second no-confidence vote (1/14)
If you are not in agreement with any of above you can get the odds here and back your opinion: https://go.renatus.
2%
The year-on-year increase in national residential property prices for June 2019, the lowest inflation level in 6 years.
@CSOIreland
23.17%
The year-on-year increase in trade surplus for June 2019 growing from €27,456b in June 2018 to €33,818b.
@CSOIreland
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