International investment group Apax Partners will invest up to £50 million (€63.5 million) in Irish companies over the next three years, the managing director of its Dublin office has said. The company will invest in technology companies and firms at various stages of development, including buyouts.
Mr Pierce Casey, who heads the group's Dublin operations, said Apax would follow a balanced portfolio strategy, investing in firms from start-ups to buyouts.
He was speaking yesterday, following the inception of the group's new Pan European fund which has raised €1.8 billion (£1.42 billion) from US and European investors.
Apax specialises primarily in high growth companies in five sectors - information technology, telecommunications, healthcare, media and speciality retailing. The company has 12 offices worldwide and its Dublin office provides private equity funding and corporate finance advice.
"We would anticipate a growing number of opportunities in the area of buyouts - especially of larger companies, both in the public and the private sectors," Mr Casey said.
He said Apax, because it had access to larger funds, would be looking for investments which were larger than those in which the local Irish based funds would be investing. Mr Casey said for this reason Apax would be complementary to local funds. He added that it was a "realistic objective" for Apax to become the biggest venture capital fund in Ireland in the next few years. Earlier this week Apax announced its second Irish investment, with the injection of $5 million (£3.6 million) in Integrated Silicon Systems Ltd, based in Belfast. ISS develops semiconductor intellectual property for digital signal processing.
It follows Apax Partners involvement in the £10.4 million funding of ENBA, the Dublin-based start up Internet financial services provider. ENBA is set to launch an Internet-based bank and brokerage service for retail customers and a technology-based banking service for British private client stockbrokers. The company's other backers include Intel and German retailer Metro.
Apax was founded in the US in 1969 and in Europe in 1971. It now manages more than €5 billion (£3.9 billion) for leading institutional investors around the world. The company's Irish team includes Mr Casey, a former DCC executive, and former NCB Corporate finance director Mr Brian Stephens, who established the Dublin office about six months ago.
Mr Casey has a number of private investments in his own right. This week he joined the board of Lamont Holdings as a non-executive director. It follows the acquisition of a 15.8 per cent stake in Lamont by Castlemere Enterprises. Castlemere is owned jointly by Mr Casey and Mr Ronald Wilson of Monaghan Mushrooms. The 15.8 per cent stake cost around £3.1 million (€3.9 million).
