Renatus’ Weekly M&A Newsletter – 12/09/2021
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September 26, 2021
Renatus Weekly M&A & Company Performance Private Equity Newsletter 19/09/2021
Dear Reader,
Please find below this week’s newsletter covering the latest M&A, company performance, fundraisings and executive moves.
M&A ACTIVITY
Colas Teoranta acquires SIAC
Deal Details: Colas Teoranta has acquired sole control of SIAC Bituminous Products Limited for an undisclosed sum. The purchase has been cleared by the Consumer Protection Commission.
SIAC Bituminous Products was one of SIAC’s business areas which focuses on manufacturing and laying of Bituminous Material. SIAC, established in 1920s, also provides Civil Engineering services, Roofing & Cladding, Traffic Management and M&E services.
Co Kildare-based Colas Teoranta is a world leader in road maintenance, providing road surfacing services to local authorities and private contractors nationally. Colas Teoranta is owned by the Colas Group, a major French civil engineering firm.
Advisors: None Mentioned
Renatus Comment: It was reported in 2014 that Colas Teoranta was part of a group of investors who provided an €8m equity injection to SIAC whilst the company was in examinership. For the year ended June 2020, SIAC Bituminous Products generated revenue of €27m and EBITDA of €2.4m. The deal is another positive step for Colas, having been awarded the contract for the €10m reconstruction of the runway at Cork Airport in July 2021.
Source: CCPC; SIAC, Colas Teoranta
Oliver Murphy Insurance Brokers is acquired by PIB
Deal Details: PIB Group Ltd has acquired Oliver Murphy Insurance Brokers for an undisclosed sum. This transaction is subject to customary Irish regulatory approvals.
Established in 1996, Oliver Murphy Insurance Brokers is an insurance broker based in Waterford offering customers a range of insurance solutions across commercial, personal lines and financial planning advice.
Prior to the transaction, the company was owned by Oliver Murphy and generated turnover of €1.8m in the year ending March 20.
Originating from the UK, PIB is a global insurance advisory business with over 40 offices across UK, Ireland, Channel Islands, Germany, Poland, Denmark and Spain. PIB is backed by Apax Partners and The Carlyle Group.
Advisers: Pauline Horkan of Dillon Solicitors advised Oliver Murphy Insurance Brokers on the legals.
Blayre McBride from DLA Piper acted for PIB.
Renatus Comment: The deal comes five months after PIB’s acquisition of Creane & Creane. Brendan McManus, CEO for PIB Group, stated that PIB’s ambition is to make Ireland a key territory for PIB where they intend to grow their retail and wholesale footprint through further acquisition. So far in 2021 we have reported on 17 insurance deals. Given the level of activity in the market, we expect valuations to remain strong as key players hunt for further acquisitions.
Source: PIB Group
Digiwheel is acquired by Evolution
Deal Details: Transigo Limited, trading as Digiwheel, was acquired by live casino operator Evolution Gaming for an undisclosed sum.
Digiwheel was founded in 2010 by John Purcell and his sons John Purcell Jnr and Philip Purcell. The company produces unique 360-degree rotating digital wheels for the gaming and casino industry. The Digiwheel product was launched in 2019.
Evolution, founded in 2006 and based in Malta, is a leading provider of online, live, casino systems in the B2B market.
Advisers: LK Shields team led by Emmet Scully (corporate partner) with Lester Sosa-Villatora (corporate associate) and James Green (corporate trainee) acted for Evolution on this transaction.
Renatus Comment:. According to EGBA, in 2019, the total European gambling market was worth €98.6bn, with online gambling accounting for €24.5bn. Covid has accelerated online gambling and companies like Flutter are investing heavily in its non sport gaming offering.
Source: Digiwheel; Evolution; LK Shields
Casoria is acquired by OQEMA
Deal Details: OQEMA Group has acquired Casoria in Ireland. Casoria, based in Cavan, is a distributor of a range of chemicals and metals to the Irish market and was founded in 1998 by Declan Young.
The OQEMA Group, formerly Overlack, is one of the leading chemical distributors in Germany.
At March 21, Casoria had net assets of €1.2m.
The management of Casoria will remain in place and the company will join part of the OQEMA Western Hub which also includes the existing Irish based businesses of the group.
Advisers: None mentioned
Renatus Comment: Hartmut Kunz, CFO of OQEMA stated that OQEMA’s strategic focus is on the food and pharmaceutical industries. Casoria becomes a platform for OQEMA’s broad product range. We can see a clear logic for this deal given Ireland’s strength in the food and pharmaceutical industries which should allow OQEMA gain revenue synergies by expanding the product range they sell into these companies.
Source: Casoria
DEAL UPDATES & OTHER NEWS
Kerry Group completes Niacet acquisition
Deal Details: Kerry Group has announced the completion of €853m deal to acquire food technologies group Niacet, from an affiliate of funds advised by SK Capital Partners, on a cash-free, debt-free basis.
The deal, covered in the June ’21 edition of the Renatus newsletter, will see Niacet form part of Kerry’s global food protection and preservation platform.
The final cash consideration is subject to customary completion adjustments.
Source: Kerry Group
AIB joint venture with Canada Life approved by CCPC
Deal Details: The Irish regulatory watchdog CCPC has approved the life and pensions joint venture between AIB and Canada Life.
The bank, led by chief executive Colin Hunt, will invest €90m in the 50:50 joint venture, to cover its share of the set-up costs and regulatory capital required for the new business, it said in a statement.
Canada Life is owned by Great-West Lifeco, which is based in Winnipeg, Canada, and which also owns Irish Life.
Advisers: Key Capital advised Great-West Lifeco on the joint venture.
Source: Renatus; CCPC
Sherry Fitzgerald to sell majority stake to PE
Deal Details: Sherry Fitzgerald has reportedly hired PwC to advise on options to secure private equity investment in exchange for majority share in the group.
Sherry Fitzgerald, the largest estate agent in Ireland, has been operating for almost 40 years. It has 100 offices, including 70 franchises, across the State.
According to latest accounts its turnover declined by 17.5% to just under €25m in 2020.
Source: Irish Times
COMPANY PERFORMANCE
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
Limerick-based Conack Construction Ltd was founded by Kieran Cusack and Tom O’Connor. Conack today works with public and private clients across commercial, pharmaceutical, healthcare, and other sectors.
In its financial year to December 2020, the business reported revenue of c. €73.1m (a decrease of 8.2% YoY). This converted to EBITDA of c. €3.0m which was an increase of c. 5.8% YoY. EBITDA growth was enabled by gross margins moving from 10.8% in FY19 to 12.7% in FY20. Cash at the end of the year stood at c. €11.3m, an increase of €7m in the year driven by EBITDA and a significant improvement in working capital.
The business employed an average of 128 people over the year at a cost of c. €7.7m.
Newry-based Murdock Builders Merchants Limited specialise in the supply and wholesale distribution of building materials as well as timber importation. Established in 1982, the business now has 14 builders merchant branches plus two bespoke timber sites in Ireland.
In June this year, Murdock acquired Brooks Group from Welsh-based Premier Forest Products Group. Brooks Group is one of the largest timber and building suppliers in the Republic of Ireland with 7 stores nationwide.
In its financial year to December 2020, the business reported revenue of £65.2m and EBITDA of £5.5m, which were a 4.3% decrease and a 22.9% increase YoY, respectively. Gross margins at business decreased from 30.8% in FY19 to 29.8% this year but administartive expenses decreased by c. £2.7m YoY which supported EBITDA growth.
The business finished the year with a cash balance of c. £8.1m. It employed an average of 355 people during the year at a cost of c. £9.6m.
In last week’s edition of the newsletter, the incorrect logo was used for Tractamotors Ltd. The below is the correct logo for TractaMotors Ltd.
Tractamotors Limited specialises in the wholesale and retail sale of tyres and agricultural merchandise, construction equipment and retail sale of hardware and motor factor products.
In its financial year to December 2020, the business recognised revenue of c. €22.0m (an increase of 5.8% YoY) which converted to EBITDA of c. €1.3m (an increase of 79.4% YoY). The EBITDA expansion was enabled by gross margins increasing from 7.7% in FY20 to 9.2% in FY20 and also by administrative expenses decreasing by c. €125k.
The business ended the year with a cash balance of c. €614k with the repayment of bank loans totalling c. €1.7m being the most significant use.
Tractamotors Limited is owned by a number of Clarke and Murray family members. It employed 84 people during the year at a cost of c. €2.8m.
RECENT FUNDRAISINGS
Who: Health tech company WebDoctor, an Irish online doctor service, has secured funding. The business was established by Oisín and Howard Kim and Martin Commins in 2013, now boasting over 350,000 Irish patients. Noel McSweeney is Chairman of WebDoctor.
What: The company has secured €3m investment from VentureWave Capital, which values the company at €48m. This investment represents a step towards VentureWave Capital’s €100m target for its Impact Ireland fund. VentureWave Capital Chairman and Managing Partner, Alan Foy, will join WebDoctor’s board of directors.
Why: The investment will be used to accelerate WebDoctor’s international expansion. WebDoctor is a great example of an Irish company with an excellent market opportunity, proven team and exemplary technology / product platform.
Source: Irish Times
Who: 4Securitas, an Irish cybersecurity start-up that uses artificial intelligence to prevent hacking, founded by Stefan Umit Uygur and Donal Kerr.
What: The company has secured a €2m investment from Cysero, an Italian state backed venture capital fund. 4Securitas previously received funding from iTrust and Enterprise Ireland.
Why: The money is to be used to expand 4Securitas’ product to new markets.
Source: Irish Times
Who: CattleEye, a Belfast-based livestock monitoring company. Its product, which is not yet available to consumers, uses artificial intelligence to increase animal welfare and cut carbon emissions. The comapny was founded in 2019.
What: The business has secured a seed investment of €2.1m from a funding round led by Techstar Ventures and also included backers from Paris and Silicon Valley.
Why: The funding will be used for further product development and for their commercial launch preparation later this year.
Source: Irish Times
Who: PepTalk, is a team culture and action platform designed specifically for the hybrid work environment. The business is led by co-founders Michelle Fogarty, James Brogan and Bernard Brogan.
What: PepTalk completed a €1.2m funding round which was led by UK venture capital company Haatch Ventures with contribution from a consortium of angel investors and Enterprise Ireland.
Why: The funding will be used to add new features to its platform such as behavioural nudges for managers and team check-ins. They will also use this money to create 15 new jobs within the next year and supporting its expansion into UK and EMEA markets.
Advisors: Barry O’Neill and Conor Sharpe of CircleRock Capital facilitated the transaction.
Source: RTE
Who: Food delivery software platform Vromo, founded in 2016 by Alan and Brian Hickey, has raised funding.
What: €6.8m round was led by Dutch VC No Such Ventures.
Why: The investment will be used to accelerate the company’s growth plans and for hiring of new staff.
Source: Irish Times
Who: Pulse Market, the online market place for procuring and selling services has reportedly received funding. Pulse Market was founded by John Ellis, John Dowdall and David Lewis.
What: An undisclosed amount from Paul Fawsitt, who sold his Moneymate financial data firm four years ago. Other investors of Pulse Market include Tim Murphy, a former derivatives chief at BNY Mellon, and Pat Joy who sold the bulk of his specialised oil and gas storage business to Hitecvision.
Why: The specific use of the funds was not disclosed.
Source: Irish Times
EXECUTIVE AND BOARD APPOINTMENTS
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 with details of key recent executive and board level appointments.
THOUGHT OF THE WEEK
With the kids back to school and the evenings getting shorter, we got our first insight to budget 2022 this week. As we hope to leave the worst of the pandemic behind us, difficult choices have to be made as the focus will shift onto areas like affordable housing, climate change and improving public services. In SME land, we will have a close eye on what impact this budget will have on areas such as the minimum wage, auto enrolment and carbon taxes that may add to the cost base of a company. Given the recent period of inflation in areas like transport costs and energy, any material changes may lead to higher prices for consumers. Any change to CGT and entrepreneur relief may impact M&A activity.
@RenatusCapital Tweets
8.6%
The year-on-year increase in the Irish residential (houses & apartments) property prices for July 2021, according to @CSOIreland
11% & 9%
The year-on-year increase in the Irish agricultural output and input price indices, respectively, for July 2021, according to @CSOIreland
94%
The biennial decrease in the number of passengers handled by main Irish airports for Q2 2021 amounting to 596,157 vs pre-COVID 10,479,523 passengers, according to @CSOIreland
€41bn
The reported total State spend, under the Economic Recovery Plan, on pandemic supports, according to a paper from the Tax Strategy Group (TSG).
@RTEbusiness
29%
The year-on-year increase in the Northern Ireland services output for Q2 2021. When comparing to pre-pandemic Q1 2019, the respective figure is 1.5% lower, according to @NISRA
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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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