European private equity company Exponent has opened a new office in Dublin, following its approval by the Central Bank to operate in Ireland as an alternative investment fund manager.
The new office, in Dublin’s Merrion Square, will be overseen by former Blackrock chief operating officer Jacqueline Flynn, and support Exponent’s investment activity in Ireland, led by David McGovern.
Ms Flynn will oversee the team, which includes relocating members of the firm’s finance and investor relations functions, with more hires planned across the new office.
“Ireland is a compelling environment to invest the resources of our firm and opening an office in Dublin is a natural and exciting step for our business,” said Mr McGovern. “The Exponent platform has been further enhanced by the high-quality team assembled in Dublin and we are delighted to welcome Jacqueline on board. We are resolute in our commitment to Ireland and look forward to expanding the team in the years to come as we continue our investing journey in the Irish market.”
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Exponent has already made 12 investments in Irish-owned or Irish-based businesses totalling more than €1 billion since 2012.
Among its previous investments are Galway-based financial services company Fintrax, now called Planet, which it acquired in 2012 and sold in 2015; DCC carve-out Enva, which it sold in June after buying the business in 2017; and current investment H&MV Engineering, a Limerick-based specialist in high-voltage electrical engineering, which serves blue-chip data centre, renewables and utilities clients.
