Phoenix Equity, Thoma Bravo among firms betting on Ireland; BNPP AM Prime featured in They Said It
Good morning, Nina Lindholm here with the Europe Wire from the London newsroom.
We’ll delve into a mix of sectors to start this Friday. There is a common thread however, as all the target companies in the deals are headquartered in Ireland. Just yesterday, Phoenix Equity Partners announced an investment in an occupational healthcare provider that operates from nine locations across the island of Ireland. We also have deals in power generation, software and engineering.
To finish, we’ll look at They Said It, where I highlight some of the best quotes from PE Hub stories from the past week. This time, the spotlight is on GP stakes, as we return to an interview with Pascal Christory, CEO of BNPP AM Prime.
When in Ireland
While not quite a flurry, four deals involving targets with headquarters in Ireland – particularly during the popular vacation month of August – caught my interest. The latest firm to make a move in the country is Phoenix Equity Partners, which announced investment in in Medmark, an occupational healthcare provider.
Founded in 1987, Medmark provides health screening, workplace medical assessment and employee wellbeing services to more than 500,000 employees. The company operates from nine locations across the island of Ireland, serving public and private sector organizations of all sizes.
Phoenix plans to support Medmark in expanding its clinical and operational teams, investing further in technology and digital health platforms, enhancing customer reporting and service delivery, and broadening its geographic reach. The backing will also help Medmark pursue complementary acquisitions and develop new services for employers across Ireland.
“Each of our investments is underpinned by deep sector research and a strong belief in the founders’ vision, and we believe Medmark is well placed to benefit from growing demand for occupational health and workplace wellbeing services across Ireland,” said Barry Robinson, partner at Phoenix, in a statement.
Elsewhere in Ireland, Exponent announced earlier this week that it has agreed to invest in OFS, a provider of specialist technical services for the global power generation industry.
Co-founders Eric Kavanagh and Joseph Dunne will continue to lead Naas-based OFS as the company works to meet rising demand from power generation, energy and data center customers worldwide.
OFS’ engineers and technicians install, commission, maintain and operate industrial and aeroderivative gas turbines and related power generation equipment, often working directly for the original equipment manufacturers whose products it services. The company’s customers include Mitsubishi Power, Solar Turbines, Siemens, GE Power and Vantage.
Gas turbines support the electric grid and are increasingly used as on-site, or “behind the meter,” power sources for data centers, driven by grid constraints, connection delays and rising demand for reliable capacity, according to a press statement.
“Structural growth across the global power market, combined with the emergence of on-site power as a core requirement for data centers, is creating a step-change in demand for OFS’s services,” said Shane Farragher, partner at Exponent, in the statement.
The deal is not Exponent’s only one in Ireland this month. The firm also announced the closing of an approximately €750 million single-asset continuation vehicle to extend its partnership with H&MV Engineering.
The transaction values Limerick-based H&MV at €1.4 billion, representing a near twelvefold increase since Exponent’s investment in 2022 and almost doubling its valuation since welcoming minority investors, LGT Capital Partners and direct equity funds managed by Hamilton Lane, in 2024.
Over in software, Thoma Bravo closed the take-private of Kneat, a digital validation and quality process automation provider based in Limerick, in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately C$650 million ($466 million; €404 million).
Do you have any views on dealmaking trends in Ireland? Get in touch with me at nina.l@pei.group.
They Said It
Before I sign off, let’s look at They Said It. This time, we focus on GP stakes. Pascal Christory, CEO of BNPP AM Prime, spoke to PE Hub’s Craig McGlashan about the firm’s pipeline and what he believes will drive more European GP stakes deals.
I found Christory’s thoughts on looking ahead at the next decade particularly interesting:
“Obviously there won’t be enough capital for everybody. We have to think strategically. What is the flight plan for the next decade, beyond capital formation? I think this includes some GP stake partnering with large institutions like us. GPs thinking strategically about GP stakes are taking those aspects into account. So far, it has been a very important argument. We bring some passion, value creation, as well helping the GPs to expand their M&A and to open new offices in Europe, in the US, in the UK.” – Pascal Christory, BNPP AM Prime
That’s all from me this morning. John R Fischer will be with you later with the US Wire, and I’ll write to you again on Monday.
Cheers,
Nina
