Chairman and chief executive of Rapid Technology Mr Pat McDonagh was already a multi-millionaire before he added to his fortune yesterday through the flotation of the company on the Developing Companies Market.
When Rapid Technology shares closed at 115p in Dublin yesterday, the former school teacher's shareholding in the company was worth £7.23 million. But forty-six year old Mr McDonagh had already made a fortune out of the technology sector. Through the sale of most of his shares in the computer software training company he set up in 1983, CBT, Mr McDonagh made about $45 million (about £31 million). CBT was floated on the US Screen-based stock market NASDAQ market in New York in 1995. Between the flotation and a second offering of shares Mr McDonagh raised about $45 million. He retains a small number of CBT shares.
Mr McDonagh's fellow executive directors at RTG also became paper millionaires yesterday.
With the company now worth £25.8 million on the market, development director Mr Jim Barry's 11 per cent stake is worth just over £2.8 million. The 10.5 per cent stake of finance and business development director Mr Roger Bannon is now worth £2.7 million. Since the executive directors have given a commitment not to sell their shares for a year, their gains are paper gains for the moment.
Mr McDonagh worked in sales at Rank Xerox and ICL before he set up CBT. In 1987 he sold 75 per cent of the company for £4 million to the British company, Hoskyns.
But when Hoskyns was taken over by Cap Gemini Sogeti and the French company decided to divest, Mr McDonagh bought CBT back for £3 million.
With CBT chief executive Mr Bill McCabe, he decided to set up a direct sales force in the US. This approach to the US markets was extremely successful and was followed by rapid increases in sales and profits. To facilitate future expansion the board then decided to seek a listing on NASDAQ. Mr McDonagh is a non-executive director of the CBT Group.
Sources said that Mr McDonagh is a GAA fan, managing a junior club in north Dublin, and has a taste for fine red wine. He is said to be good company and a generous employer.
Mr Roger Bannon (45) is a chartered accountant who worked in practice before moving into the technology area where he has worked for 16 years. In 1985 he joined Mr Barry in Trufax Holdings which had developed an electronic point of sales software system.
Trufax went into liquidation and later receivership in 1988, owing Guinness and Mahon £6 million, the Revenue Commissioners £186,000 and Senator Des Hanafin £360,000. In 1988 Mr Bannon and Mr Barry set up holding company, Feltscope.
Married with six children, Mr Bannon is a former president of the Irish Sailing Association.
Mr Barry (51) worked for RTE from 1968 to 1973 as a designer in the engineering, planning and control section. Between 1973 and 1979 he was a director and general manager of Phoenix Relays which is now part of Cablelink.
In 1979 he founded Barry Business Systems which later became Trufax Holdings where Roger Bannon joined him in 1985.
