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Renatus’ Weekly M&A Newsletter – 12/06/2022
June 12, 2022
Renatus’ Weekly M&A Newsletter – 26/06/2022
June 26, 2022
June 19, 2022

Our thoughts on the Irish public's finances, Tricel acquires MID GlassFibre Supplies, Pexlify acquired by Merkle, and much more in our latest weekly Renatus M&A newsletter.

Renatus Private Equity Dublin, Ireland

Renatus Weekly M&A & Company Performance Private Equity Newsletter 19/06/2022

Dear Reader,

Please find below this week’s newsletter covering the latest M&A, company performance, fundraisings and executive moves.

THOUGHT OF THE WEEK

To continue our theme in recent weeks of looking at the glass as half full as opposed to half empty, there are lots of positives for the Irish public’s finances.

1. In a clever move by the NTMA, the most recent €47bn debt raised by Ireland is locked in at 0.22% at a weighted maturity of 12.6 years. If the Irish government were to buy a ten-year bond today, it would cost 2.5%. Less than 15% of total bonds mature in the next three years.

2. Inadvertently, we could get a windfall of up to €20bn if the Apple Corporation case goes against Apple and the European Commission come out with the eventual result they are seeking. Ireland is not seeking this and values the Apple relationship higher but it could hop our way. Apple has €13bn in escrow pending the outcome. On the same theme, we continue to get the benefit of extra corporation tax from the giants which has surprisingly boosted our coffers in recent years.

3. We have historically looked on with envy at the oil-rich Nordics and the Middle East pumped oil and printed money. Our ownership of our patch of the Atlantic Ocean and other surrounding waters could yield huge dividends as the world shifts to renewables. Where better to generate it than off the coasts of Ireland which could result in billions upfront or annually depending on how we monetise our resource.

M&A ACTIVITY

Tricel acquires MID GlassFibre Supplies

Deal Details: Tricel Composites, part of the larger Tricel Group, has acquired Dublin-based MID GlassFibre Supplies.

The Tricel Group, which has its headquarters in Killarney, comprises of 12 companies across Europe, with six manufacturing operations. It manufactures composite, fiberglass and glass-reinforced plastic products. The business is led by managing director, Mike Stack and is owned by the Stack family. It does not report turnover or EBITDA information and empoys c. 600 staff.

MID GlassFibre Supplies (T/A Marine & Industrial Distribution) supplies fibre glass and ancillary materials to a customer base including roofing contractors, government departments and boat owners. It is based in Dublin and owned by Liam & Jacqueline Phelan. It does not report turnover or EBITDA information.

Advisers: None mentioned.

Renatus Comment: This acquisition is Tricel’s third in 2022, having acquired Biokube A/S and AJ Environment in the last three months.

The acquisition represents a focus on cementing Tricel’s position as an industry leader in Ireland, with the last two acquisitions having focused on the business’ expansion in mainland Europe.

Source: Irish Examiner

Pexlify acquired by Merkle

Deal Details: Dublin-based Pexlify has been acquired by Merkle. Deal details have not been disclosed.

Pexlify was founded in 2015 and employs 150 staff across offices in Dublin, London and Frankfurt. Its clients, which include insurer AA, New Ireland Assurance, Volkswagen Financial Services and Funding Circle, use it to integrate their existing tech set-ups with Salesforce. Based in Dublin, the business had FY21 turnover of c. €13.4m, which converted to an EBITDA of c. €3.5m. The business’ largest shareholders are Stephen Lambert and Russel Keenan.

Merkle is a customer experience transformation business partner. The business’ focus is in the areas of CX consulting, data transformation, and digital transformation. It operates as a subsidiary of Dentsu Group. The Dentsu Group had FY21 revenues of c. €7.6bn, which converted to an EBITDA of c. €1.4bn.

Advisers:
Pexlify
Legal: Kieran Regan and Deirdre Potenz of ReganWall
Corporate Finance: Equiteq led by Jerome Glynn-Smith and Emmanuel Kostucki.
Tax: BDO

Renatus Comment: Large digital agencies and consulting companies see digital enablement consulting services as a major growth area as they look to be partners to businesses as they build out their organisational software stack. This acquisition appears to fit within this trend.

In Ireland, we have seen evidence of this with some of the larger consulting practices demonstrating their focus on digital services. In March of this year, EY acquired Client Solutions, a domestic enterprise technology firm to sit within EY’s consulting arm while in 2020, Deloitte acquired Irish cloud services provider DNM, to name just two.

Source: Pexlify Press Release

PIB acquires Fingal Insurance Group

Deal Details: PIB Group Ltd has acquired Fingal Insurance Group. Deal details have not been disclosed.

PIB Group Limited offers insurance brokerage services, providing advisory, analytics, claims management, premium funding, and risk management solutions. The business is based in London and owned by Paisley EquityCo. It had FY20 turnover of c. £152m, which converted to an EBITDA of c. £24m. It is led by CEO, Brendan McManus.

Fingal Insurance Group is one of Ireland’s leading commercial insurance brokers known for its expertise in the construction and transport sectors. It is based in Dublin and had FY21 turnover of €2.7m. It is led by Managing Director, Conor McCarthy.

Advisers:
PIB Group
Legal: A DLA Piper team of Matt Cole, Dara McDonald and Maria Hickey.

Fingal Insurance Group
Legal: Power & Co.

Renatus Comment: Consolidation has been the major theme of the insurance space for some time now, with PIB proving very active.

Prior to the announcement of this acquisition, PIB has announced 6 acquisitions in 2022 alone, following a total of 10 in 2021. Of these, 4 have been Irish deals, with PIB acquiring Alan Tierney & Partners, Campion Insurances, Oliver Murphy Insurance, and Creane & Creane Ltd.

Source: PIB Press Release

COMPANY PERFORMANCE

Mulllingar Autos Limited is a motor dealership supplying Volkswagen, Skoda and FIAT vehicles. The business is based in Westmeath and owned by James, Eugene and Daniel Bourke.

In its financial year to December 2021, Mullingar Autos had a turnover of c. €18.2m, a 25% increase year-on-year. This converted to an EBITDA of c. €1.1m, a rise of 88.1% year-on-year. This is largely attributable to an improvement in gross margins from 7.6% to 9.8%.

The business finished the year with a cash balance of c. €2.9m, an increase of c. €1.0m year-on-year. Mullingar Autos employed an average of 33 people at an annual cost of c. €1.5m.

Diamond Glass Limited is a glass processing company delivering high-quality glass products for a range of high-end corporate and residential clients. The business is based in Dublin and owned by Patrick Carolan, Michael Kelleher and James Crumlish.

In its financial year to March 2021, Diamond Glass reported turnover of c. €11.7m, a decrease of 16.3% year-on-year. However, this converted to an EBITDA of c. €1.0m, an 8.8% increase year-on-year. The rise in EBITDA is largely attributable to an improved gross margin, rising from 50.5% to 53.7% year-on-year.

The business finished the year with an overdrawn cash balance of c. €300k, but generated c. €677k of cash over the year. Significant post-EBITDA cash movements included a property acquisition, along with an inflow of cash from two new loans. The business employed an average of 85 people over the year at an annual cost of c. €3.1m.

RECENT FUNDRAISINGS

Who: BloXmove, a shared B2B mobility blockchain platform, has raised funding.

What: The business has reportedly raised funding at a post-money valuation of €14m. The identity of the investors was not disclosed.

Why: The funding will be used to further develop the business’ technology.

Source: CapitalIQ 

Who: Chrysea Limited, a biotechnology company based in Dublin.

What: The business has raised €3.7m in a funding round led by PME Investimentos.

Why: The funding will be used to develop and commercialise one of Chrysea’s core products.

Source: CapitalIQ

Who: Act Venture Capital, the Dublin-based, technology-focused VC fund.

What: The business has raised a €140m fund to focus on early-stage technology companies.

Why: The funding will be used to make investments of up to €10m into around 35 companies.

Source: Irish Times

Who: Pitchbooking, a Belfast tech company operating a platform that enables the instant, online booking of sports facilities.

What: The business has raised £500k in funding from Vertex Albion Capital and Co-Fund NI, among others.

Why: The funding will be used to create new jobs within the business, with the aim of doubling the team over the first year post-investment.

Source: Belfast Telegraph

Who: Webio, a Dublin-based start-up whose AI platform helps credit and payments businesses across Europe to communicate with customers.

What: The business has raised $4m in funding in a Series A funding round led by Finch Capital.

Why: The investment will be used to grow the business’ R&D team, and expand its customer success and sales & marketing team.

Advisors: On legals, Philip Lee, led by Eoghan Doyle and Andrew Tzialli, alongside Hugo Grattirola and Patrick Egan.

Source: Business Post

Who: Swoop, an online platform designed to simplify access to loans, grants and equity funding for SMEs. The business was founded inn 2018 by Andrea Reynolds, daughter of former Taoiseach Albert Reynolds, and Ciaran Burke.

What: Swoop has raised close to €10m in a Series A funding round at a valuation of €30m. €3m was raised from RBS in the UK, and €6.3m was raised from Arab Bank Ventures, US fund WeHo Ventures, VC fund Velocity and the firm’s seed investors, as well as Italian angel fund IAG.

Why: It is reported that the business plans to scale into the US, Canada and Australia.

Source: Sunday Independent.

Who: Papercup, a speech recognition business that uses AI to dub videos with high accuracy. The London-based business was founded by Founded in 2017 by Jesse Shemen and Jiameng Gao.

What: The business has raised c. $20m in funding in a round led by Octopus Ventures with participation from Sky, Guardian Media Ventures, John Collison of Stripe, and Des Traynor of Intercom along with other investors.

Why: The funding will be used to continue research and development of Papercup’s technology.

Source: Business Post

EXECUTIVE AND BOARD APPOINTMENTS

We in Renatus believe that more important than the deals are the people and we are pleased to provide you with details of key recent executive and board-level appointments.


Caitriona McCusker

Source:
(Google Images & LinkedIn)


James McMenamin

Source:
(Google Images & LinkedIn)


Ruairi Kelleher

Source:
(Google Images & LinkedIn)


Omar Sosa

Source:
(Google Images & LinkedIn)


John O’Callaghan

Source:
(Google Images & LinkedIn)

@RenatusCapital Tweets

34%

The proportion of Ireland’s electricity provided by wind energy in May, up 9% on May 2021. According to @WindEnergyIRL

26%

The average rise of Irish family farm income in 2021, amounting to an income of €34,300. According to @teagasc

177.8%

The rise in the price of fertiliser in April 2022 when compared to the same month last year, according to @CSOIreland

29%

The current number of people in energy poverty in Ireland, exceeding the previous record of 23% in 1995. According to @ESRIDublin

14.2%

The national rise in the Residential Property Price Index in the twelve months to April 2022. Prices in Dublin alone rose 11.5%. According to @CSOIreland

4.7 million

The number of passengers which passed through the five main airports in Ireland in Q1 2022. This is more than 11 times that of Q1 2021. According to @CSOIreland

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ABOUT RENATUS

Renatus was established in 2014 to provide growth funding to growing Irish SMEs and to partner with ambitious management teams to help companies reach their full potential.

Renatus targets companies with sustainable earnings of €1m+ and valuations typically in the range of €5m – €20m. Our typical solutions include:

  • Succession planning
  • Management buyouts
  • Management buy-ins
  • Growth financing – both organic and acquisition growth financing
  • Full and partial share sale.
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    Adrian Stackpoole, Digital Marketing Associate

    • Adrian joined Renatus in 2018, initially as a Marketing Executive before moving into the role of Digital Marketing Associate. As part of his role, Adrian manages all the digital marketing aspects of Renatus as well as conducting digital research for portfolio companies.
    • Adrian holds with a BBS degree in Marketing and Entrepreneurship from the University of Limerick, as well as a Postgraduate degree from The Digital Marketing Institute.
    • Prior to joining Renatus, Adrian worked in New York with a start-up hospitality group, specalising in marketing and operations.
    TIERNAN O’HAGAN

    Tiernan O’Hagan, Associate

    • Tiernan recently joined Renatus Capital Partners as a Private Equity Associate. As part of his role, he researches and analyses the potential of new investments and acquisitions
    • Tiernan graduated with a B.Sc in business and law from DIT Aungier street & an MSc. in Entrepreneurship from Trinity College Dublin.
    • Previously worked with Capnua Corporate Finance for three months during a summer internship.
    • Tiernan is also in the process of sitting ACCA exams.
    Bronagh Kearns Renatus

    Bronagh Kearns, Associate

      • Bronagh recently joined Renatus as a Private Equity Associate. As part of her role, she will be researching and executing investment opportunities.
      • Bronagh holds a MSc in Quantitative Finance from UCD Michael Smurfit Business School and a BSc in Finance from University College Cork. Currently, Bronagh is in the process of obtaining the ACCA qualification.
      • Prior to joining Renatus, Bronagh worked as an Investment Banking Analyst in Rubicon Capital Advisors where she worked on M&A transactions on the execution side and financial modelling in the infrastructure sector. She also worked as an Investment Associate in River and Mercantile Solutions in London quantitatively screening different investment opportunities across all asset classes.
    Alan Manning Renatus

    Alan Manning, Associate

    • Alan joined Renatus Capital Partners in September 2021 as a Private Equity Associate. As part of his role, Alan researches and analyses potential investments and acquisitions.
    • Alan holds a B.Sc Finance from University College Cork.
    • Previously working in KPMG’s Consulting division, with the Financial Management Consulting team. During his time there he was engaged on a Finance Function Review for a European Travel Technology firm, and a review of the cash management strategy of an Irish Commercial Bank.
    • In the process of sitting ACCA exams.

    Conor Hall, Associate

    • Conor joined Renatus Capital Partners in June 2018 as a Private Equity Associate. As part of his role, Conor researches and analyses potential investments and acquisitions.
    • Conor holds an M.Sc. in Quantitative Finance from UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School and a B.Sc. in Economics & Finance from UCD. He is currently working towards attaining the ACCA and CFA qualifications.
    • Prior to joining Renatus, Conor worked as an Analytics Analyst with Accenture, specialising in predictive modelling for fraud.

    Kyle Barry, Associate

    • Kyle joined Renatus Capital Partners in June 2016 as a Private Equity Associate. As part of Kyle’s role, he researches and analyses the potential of new investments and acquisitions.
    • Since joining, Kyle has worked on numerous transactions, including Simtech and Rennicks, and has worked with Renatus’ investee companies on a number of strategic projects.
    • Kyle holds an MSc. in Quantitative Finance (University College Dublin) and a BA Finance (Maynooth University). Currently, Kyle is in the process of completing the ACCA qualification.
    • Prior to joining Renatus, Kyle spent 15 months in Intel’s Finance department where he worked across the financial reporting, tax and capital financing teams.

    Philip Gardiner, Associate Director

    • Philip is an Associate Director with Renatus Capital Partners, having first joined the firm as its first employee in 2014.
    • Philip has responsibility for screening, assessment and structuring of new acquisitions.
    • He has worked on a number of transactions at Renatus including Boojum Mexican Restaurants and Simtech Aviation. Philip works actively with the boards of Boojum and Simtech Aviation.
    • Prior to joining Renatus, Philip spent four years in AIB’s corporate banking team where he worked on a mix of real estate and cash flow lending deals.
    • Philip is a member of the ACCA and holds an MSc. in Financial Services and a Bachelor in Business Studies, both from the University of Limerick.

    Jane Martin, Marketing and Administration Manager

    • Jane joined Renatus Capital Partners in June 2019 as a Marketing and Administration Manager. As part of Jane’s role, she writes the weekly newsletter, works on the CRM and looks after the admin and ad hoc tasks
    • Prior to joining Renatus, Jane worked as a Senior Account Manager in Mace Promotions where she worked closely with many SMEs as well as large corporations on their marketing projects

    Mark Flood, Director

    • Mark co-founded Renatus with Brendan Traynor in 2014. Prior to establishing Renatus, Mark spent seven years on the senior management team of the Racing Post in various operational and commercial roles. Before founding Renatus, Mark was Managing Director of the Racing Post’s Irish operation.
    • Prior to his career in the Racing Post, Mark was the first employee of FL Partners, an Irish based international private equity firm, where he was actively involved in over €300m worth of transactions.
    • Mark combines his financial, operational and commercial experience to bring value and energy to all partner companies.
    • Mark is a Chartered Accountant and holds a Bachelor of Commerce and Masters in Accounting from NUI Galway.

    Brendan Traynor, Director

    • Brendan is a co-founder of Renatus. Prior to establishing Renatus, he was a Director in BDO Corporate Finance specialising in M&A, MBO’s/MBI’s, debt and private equity fundraising across a diverse range of sectors and clients.
    • His career focus and passion is the Irish SME sector and his deal expertise covers sectors such as retail, manufacturing, FMCG, healthcare, avaiation, media, medical devices, food and agriculture, construction, and hotels and leisure.
    • Brendan is a Chartered Accountant and holds a Bachelor of Commerce from University College Dublin

    Conor Mehigan, Associate Director

    • Conor joined Renatus Capital Partners in 2021 as an Associate Director. Conor has responsibility for screening, assessment and structuring of new investments and acquisitions.
    • Prior to joining Renatus, Conor spent five years in IBI Corporate Finance specialising in M&A, debt and private equity fundraising for private and public companies across a range of sectors. Prior to his career in IBI Corporate Finance, Conor spent four years in Deloitte’s Corporate Finance Division, specialising in Transaction Services
    • Conor is a Chartered Accountant and holds a BSc in Finance from University College Cork

    Greg Dilger, Strategic Advisor

    • Greg Dilger is a former Executive Director of NCB Stockbrokers and Investec Wealth & Investment.
    • He is an investor and advisor to Renatus and brings years of relevant experience to our team.
    • Greg is also currently a Non-Executive Director of Brewin Dolphin Ireland.
    Patrick Dooley Renatus

    Patrick Dooley, Associate Director

    • Patrick joined Renatus in November 2022 as an Associate Director. Patrick has responsibility for screening, assessment and structuring of new investments and acquisitions.
    • Patrick previously held leading positions in Focus Capital Partners, PKF O’​Connor, Leddy & Holmes & EY.
    • Patrick is a charted accountant and holds a Bachelor of Accounting and Finance degree from DCU, along with a Masters degree in Accounting from TUD.

    John Dwyer, Chairman

    • John joined Renatus in 2018 as a Chairman. Prior to Renatus, John spent 30 years at PwC in the UK, 20 years as a Partner, John led the UK and Global Deals business at PwC and was an executive board member of the UK firm.
    • Prior to that, John led the UK and Global Private Equity business at PwC and worked with firms including 3i Group, Apax Partners, CVC Capital Partners and Cinven.
    • John is married to Natasha and they have three children. John works between Dublin and London and his charity work includes chairmanship of Irish Youth Foundation UK.
    • He is an advisor and Board member of Irish digital marketing firm Pigsback and media firm Racing Post.
    • John is a Chartered Accountant and holds a Bachelor of Commerce from UCD.