IBI plans to double revenue after sale to DC Advisory for more than €25m

IBI Corporate Finance, one of the top deal advisers in the State, plans to double its annual revenue in the coming years after being sold to DC Advisory, an investment bank owned by Japan’s Daiwa Securities Group in a deal understood to be worth north of €25 million.

The transaction values the Irish business, led by chairman and joint chief executive Tom Godfrey and joint chief executive Ted Webb, well above the €10 million price at which management bought it out from Bank of Ireland in 2017.

The move will create an international independent investment bank in Ireland, and open up access to international buyers and assets, along with a pool of almost 700 bankers in 23 locations, IBI and DC Advisory said in a joint statement. IBI has 28 employees. IBI executives told reporters on Tuesday that the benefit of being part of a wider network would help deliver its goal of doubling revenue in the coming years. It is believed the new medium-term revenue target is €25 million.

IBI will also gain expertise through DC Advisory that covers markets such as tech and tech-enabled services, healthcare, consumer, industrials, infrastructure and real estate, the statement said.

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IBI, which was set up in 1966 as a joint venture between Bank of Ireland and merchant banks Morgan Grenfell and Schroders, is routinely named by specialist mergers and acquisitions publications as one of Ireland’s top deal advisers. Its focus is on working with the sellers of assets.

Mr Godfrey and Mr Webb each owned about 27.3 per cent of IBI as of the end of last year, including interests held in their names and through company vehicles, according to filings for a holding company behind the business.

Managing directors David Lyons and Laurence O’Shaughnessy each owned about 18 per cent, while managing director and head of family business Raymond Donegan owns the remaining stake of about 9 per cent.

Mr Godfrey confirmed to reporters that the top team at IBI will remain in place. He said deals activity in the areas the firm focuses on – selling businesses backed by private equity – remains robust, even if the wider market has softened in recent years.

IBI estimates that there are 200 businesses owned by private-equity firms in the Republic, with about 50 worth more than €100 million. The company mainly focuses on selling firms worth €100 million to €500 million.

DC Advisory, which is the corporate finance arm of Daiwa Securities Group, has operations in the United States, Europe and Asia.

IBI made a €2.43 million profit last year, according to limited disclosures contained in abridged financial statements for the operating business for 2022, filed last month with the Companies Registration Office. The company also paid out €501,000 in dividends, reducing retained earnings to €9.99 million. Directors’ remuneration amounted to €2.76 million, up from €1.78 million for 2021.

In late 2021, the company acquired a 50 per cent stake in a specialist Dublin-based mergers and acquisitions adviser Broker Exchange Ireland (BXI) for an undisclosed sum. Founded in 2019, BXI advises on transactions between brokers working in the insurance and wealth-management sectors.