News

Deal Details: BPVA is to acquire Sabeo. Deal consideration was not disclosed but the acquisition will be supported by follow-on investment of c. £4.0m from Duke Capital. BPVA is an investment holding company established in 2018 to execute a buy and build strategy of companies in the Irish/ UK staffing and resourcing sector. The Group includes Brightwater, PE Global and Vantage Resources. Its largest shareholders are Duke Capital, John Lacy and John Hannon. It reported FY Dec’22 turnover of c. €103m, converting to an EBITDA of c. €8m. Sabeo, based in Dublin, is a supplier of IT contract and permanent resourcing solutions to clients in Ireland and the UK. It is owned by Eamonn McQuaid, Emer Mullen, Paul Goti and John Long. It does not report turnover or EBITDA information. Advisers: BPVA: Corporate Finance: IBI Corporate Finance led by Raymond Donegan and Sarah Grouse. Legal: Flynn O’Driscoll led by David Ryan and Paddy Jordan. Sabeo: None mentioned. Renatus Comment: The investment from Duke Capital allows BPVA to further its consolidation strategy, which commenced with the MBO of Brightwater in 2018. This was followed by the acquisitions of Vantage Resources, PE Global and Raretec as BPVA sought to establish itself as a major player in the UK & Irish recruitment space. Duke Capital has now supported four of these acquisitions. Source: Duke Capital Press Release

Deal Details: Screen Scene has completed a Management Buyout ("MBO") from NEP Group. The deal was supported by DunPort Capital Management through Birch Corporate Credit fund and a consortium of equity investors. The deal consideration was not reported. Screen Scene is a post-production business with a specaility in film and television having previously worked on projects such as Game of Thrones, Shogun and Star Wars to name a few. Based in Dublin, the company is led by Jack Walshe (CEO), Maura O'Byrne (CFO) and Huberty Montag (COO). The business does not report turnover or EBITDA information. NEP Group is a media broadcasting business based in the US offering a range of broadcasting services for major live events around the world. The group is owned by private equity firm, Carlyle Group. The business does not report turnover or EBITDA information. Advisers: Screen Scene: Corporate Finance: Clearwater led by John Sheridan, Michael Quinlivan and John Devine. Financial Due Diligence: Mazars led by Mark Mulcahy, Antoine Brunner and Peter Harte. Transaction Due Diligence: Mazars led by Gerry Vahey, Nicole Hanlon, and Peter Harte. NEP Group: None Mentioned. Equity Investors : Legal: Kearney Solicitors led by Nicky Lynch, Christian Carroll and Eve Robertson. Renatus Comment: The Irish Film & TV market has seen tremendous growth over the last decade riding on the demand for Irish production services arising from the tax break offered by Section 481 Film Relief. This relief equates to a c. 32% tax credit and has been extended to 2028. This tax incentive is a key driver of foreign investment into Ireland with a reported c. €500m inflow in 2021, according to Screen Ireland. The MBO of Screen Scene marks an exciting next phase of growth for the company as the management team will look to capitalise on tailwinds in the the Irish Film & TV market. Source: The Currency

Deal Details: Step Investments has raised its stake in Bay Broadcasting from 34% to 75%, achieving majority ownership. This move coincides with a £2.9m follow-on investment from Duke Capital to Step Investments, bringing total investment to £11.5m. Bay Broadcasting, based in Dublin, owns Choice Broadcasting (Irelands Classic Hits), Classic Rock Broadcasting (Radio Nova), and Star Broadcasting (Sunshine 106.8). The business does not report turnover or EBITDA information. Step Investments is an investment company focusing on the Media, Hospitality, Education and Medical sectors in the UK and Ireland. Advisers: Bay Broadcasting: None Mentioned. Step Investments: Legal: Clerkin Lynch led by Kevin Lynch and Sean Harrison. TDD & FDD: Brophy Gillespie. Duke Capital: Legal (IRE): Kearney Solicitors led by Colm Kearney and Christian Carroll. Legal (UK): Charles Russell Speechlys led by Paul Arathoon. Legal (Isle of Man) : DQ Advocates. Renatus Comment: With new opportunities for audio content distribution, competition has intensified across the sector. Given potential cost pressures and the need for digitalisation, particularly for smaller independent stations, further consolidation in the radio market could be likely. Recent deals include Bauer Media acquiring iRadio, Sales House Media Central and Beat 102-103. Source: London Stock Exchange Press Release 

Deal Details: AQF Medical, one of our portfolio companies, has been acquired by UFP Technologies. AQF Medical is an Irish-based specialist in the area of technical foam conversion and thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) packaging solutions, primarily for the medical industry. It is based in Co. Meath, and is led by Managing Director Seamus Fagan and his team. The business now exports to countries around the world and participates in a successful technical foam joint venture in Singapore. Its product offering requires technical expertise and its parts are used in applications such as woundcare, orthopaedic packaging and life-saving medical devices. In 2021, Renatus partnered with the management team of Tom Lane and Seamus Fagan along with fellow shareholders Michael, Aidan and Colin Moran. UFP Technologies is a designer and custom manufacturer of comprehensive solutions for medical devices, sterile packaging, TPU and other highly engineered custom products. The company is publicly listed, with an Enterprise Value of c. $2.6bn. In the peiod LTM Jun'24 it generated EBITDA of c. $75m. UFP is an important link in the medical device supply chain and a valued outsource partner to most of the top medical device manufacturers in the world. The company’s single-use and single-patient devices and components are used in a wide range of medical devices and packaging for minimally invasive surgery, infection prevention, wound care, wearables, orthopaedic soft goods, and orthopaedic implants. Renatus Deal Team: led by Tom Sheils and Brian Quinn. Advisers: AQF Medical: Legal: Kearney Solicitors led by Colm Kearney and Christian Carroll. Financial Support: Crowley & Co. Chartered Accountants & Registered Auditors led by Kevin Crowley and Colm Gallagher. Renatus: Legal: LK Shields led by Emmet Scully & Lisa McEllin. Tax: KPMG led by Kevin Corcoran and Marie O’Keeffe. UFP Technologies: Legal: Arthur Cox led by Connor Manning, Susan O'Leary, Chris Feighan, Sinéad Corbett and Rebecca O'Shaughnessy. FDD: Grant Thornton led by Ann-Marie Costello, Mark Holst and Dylan McCoy. TDD: Grant Thornton led by Una Ryan, Aoife Keaney, Claire Coen, James O'Rourke and Joseph McWeeney. Renatus Comment: There are two very different and amazing Irish entrepreneurial journeys woven into the AQF Medical story and we feel lucky to have been along for some of the ride. In one shareholder group (the Moran brothers) you had a traditional Irish family furniture business which spawned a new venture alongside its core focus of producing foam directly and vertically integrating, long before the MBA classes invented such a term. This evolved to ultimately supplying medical-grade foam and packaging. Separately, Tom Lane and Seamus Fagan, like a few of their Smurfit colleagues at the time, left well-paid senior leadership roles to back themselves to run their own business which subsequently merged equally with the Moran family's foam business to form AQF in 2005. One story shows what is possible when family businesses 'stick to the knitting' and expand sensibly in adjacent spaces which they know. The other shows the halo/ ripple effect of companies like Smurfit and what is possible for ambitious operators with Management buy-ins. We have no doubt that the business will continue to thrive under its new stewardship as part of UFP. Source: AQF Medical/ Renatus Press Release

Deal Details: Goodbody has acquired Clearstream Solutions. Deal consideration was not disclosed. Goodbody is a financial services firm with offices in Dublin, London, Cork and Galway. The business which was formed in 1877 has c. 360 employees. Clearstream Solutions is a Dublin-based provider of sustainability and carbon management services led by Brian O’Kennedy. The business employs c. 15 people and has major clients such as Keelings, Vodafone and AIB. The business does not report revenue or EBITDA information. Advisers: ​​​​​​Clearstream Solutions: Legal: Kearney Solicitors led by Colm Kearney Maeve Lynch and Nicky Lynch Tax: Purcell McQuillan led by Jane O’Hanlon and Deirdre O’Connell Goodbody: Legal: Eversheds Sutherland led by Lee Murphy, Avis-Marie Mulvihill, Bridget Howard and Conor Fynes Tax: Grant Thornton Renatus Comment: AIB acquired Goodbody in September 2021. As part of strategic refocus, Goodbody is reducing employee numbers in the Investment Banking division and moving the AIB’s equity capital team to Goodbody. Both AIB and Goodbody should benefit from Clearstream Solutions offering. Investment focus has increasingly shifted to focus more towards ESG initiatives as companies are looking to be better equipped to navigate regulatory, environmental, and social challenges. As part of the PwC Private Equity Responsible Survey 2021, 56% of private equity partners said they have refused to enter general partner agreements or turned down investments on ESG grounds. Source: Independent

Deal Details: Wattics Limited has been acquired by EnergyCAP. Deal Details have not been disclosed. Wattics Limited is a provider of energy analytics that allows its customers to save energy and costs. Antonia Ruzzelli and Anthony Schoofs founded the business in 2011. It is headquartered in Dublin and has support offices in New York, Treviso and Berlin. It does not publish turnover or EBITDA information. EnergyCAP is an energy data analytics platform that streamlines utility bill accounting, energy management and sustainability reporting. The business is backed by Resurgens Technology Partners, a private equity firm. It is headquartered in Pennsylvania and was founded in 1982 by Steve Heinz. Thomas Patterson has led the business as CEO since Heinz stepped back at the end of last year. In FY20, the business had a reported turnover of c. €10.2m. Advisers : EnergyCAP: None mentioned Wattics: Legal: Kearney Solicitors led by Colm Kearney and including Joanne Howell Renatus Comment: This is one of two sustainability-focused deals in this week’s newsletter which is a testament to its growing role in business and our daily lives. Businesses are under increasing scrutiny from all stakeholders to report on and monitor their ESG. This is particularly the case for the “E” of ESG which is the most quantitative of the three. This trend should bode well for companies such as EnergyCAP and Wattics which can provide clear and reportable information to business decision-makers. Source: EnergyCAP Press Release

Deal Details: Manchester-based inTEC Group has announced the acquisition of Dublin-based Provident Technology. The deal consideration was not disclosed. Provident Technology is an IT managed service provider with offices in both Dublin and London. The business was owned by John Malone, Gary Cullen, and Colin O'Callaghan prior to the transaction with John Malone being the majority shareholder. inTEC is an ICT provider that specialises in the design, implementation, and support of a range of cloud services and business applications including IT managed services, IT infrastructure support, hosted collaboration, and communication solutions. The business recently raised a £2.45m investment from Duke Royalty. The business also recently announced the acquisition of Glasgow-based, Firefly Enterprises. These two deals bring inTEC’s total number of acquisitions since 2016 to 10. Advisers: Sell-Side: FinRes advised Provident Technology on the transaction. Renatus Comment: ICT managed services is in a consolidating space. Significant consolidators in the market include Eir and Welltel, to name just two. Welltel acquired Strencom in 2021, Intellicom and Invistech in 2020, Eycro Communications in 2018 and ATS in 2017. Eir acquired Evros Technology Solutions who were themselves very acquisitive prior to that acquisition. Other notable deals in this space include Nostra's acquisitions of EMIT and Enclave, Unity Technologies' acquisition of IT Force, and Ergo's acquisition of Asystec. Source: inTec Press Release

Deal Details Vantage Resources has agreed a deal to be acquired by Bakhchysarai (Ireland) Ltd (BIL), subject to regulatory approval. Deal details were not disclosed. Vantage Resources Limited is an IT contracting and talent acquisition business founded in 2000 that primarily sources specialist IT professionals on medium to long- term contracts to clients. The company’s service offerings include IT contracting, Testing, Quality Assurance and Project Management. Vantage Resources is wholly owned by Simon Martin. The acquisition will see Vantage Resources continue to operate as an independent business led by managing director Jason McNeill. The company, had reported turnover of c.€22m and EBITDA of c.€1.1m in 2020. BIL is an Irish-based acquisition holding company that includes both Brightwater Recruitment and PE global in its group companies. BIL’s Capital Partners include Duke Royalty and Bank of Ireland. Advisers Vantage Resources: IBI Corporate Finance (James Doody & Darragh Jones) acted as corporate finance advisors. Beauchamps Solicitors (Shaun O’Shea, Deirdre Cahill & Emily Harrington) acted as legal advisors. BIL: RDJ acted on legals (led by Bryan McCarthy, Sarah Slevin, Diarmaid Gavin and Mark Ludlow). Financial due diligence was completed by KPMG (Mark Collins, Kieran Gee and Michaela Dillon). Tax due diligence and advice was provided by Grant Thornton (Sasha Kerins, Robert Murphy and Ann Marie Haughey). Principal funders Duke Royalty were advised locally on the legals by Colm Kearney of Kearney Solicitors, whilst Pierce Butler and Warren Power led the Bank of Ireland team who were advised by McCann Fitzgerald (Tom Ó Maolagáin and Romy Redmond).  Renatus Comment: BIL was the company established for the MBO of recruitment agency Brightwater in 2018. There has been significant M&A activity in this sector in recent years, most notably the acquisition of CPL by Japanese group Outsourcing companies will