The founders of Enniscorthy based tech firm Taoglas have sold a majority stake in the business to US private equity backer Graham Partners and are targeting a $1bn turnover.
The price of the deal has not been disclosed but is understood to value the business at around $200m, catapulting co-founders Dermot O’Shea and Ronan Quinlan into the ranks of the country’s wealthiest business people. The co-founders each have a 42pc stake in the business. Dermot O’Shea will retain a stake after the sale and is staying on as CEO, while co-founder Ronan Quinlan is leaving.
Backing by Graham will help accelerate growth, Dermot O’Shea told the Irish Independent:
“We got to $100m revenue per year all by ourselves - but it took 18 years,” he said.
“We want to get to $1bn in revenue by 2030 and we need the help of a firm like Graham to do that and the financial muscle they bring for our acquisition and growth plans.”
Taoglas designs products such as antenna and radio frequency components that can be used for high-accuracy location tracking.
The company said the deal will support Taoglas' continued expansion of in-house engineering expertise and design globally, new product development, sales channels, and customer base across a wide range of IoT industries, including mobility, infrastructure, transportation, medical, industrial, and smart city verticals.
"Graham Partners is a game changer for Taoglas. We selected Graham Partners after a detailed and patient process based on their deep understanding of IoT, cultural fit, and shared vision of where we want to take the company,” said Dermot O’Shea, CEO of Taoglas.
“With no change to the recent Taoglas leadership team or day-to-day operations, we maintain our values and mission and gain a true partner, not just an investor, to help us achieve our goals.”
The size of the deal puts it among the ranks of the $400 (€379m) sale of Dublin-based chip design firm Decawave in 2020 to Nasdaq-listed radio frequency firm Qorvo. Later that same year, Irish telecoms software firm Openet was sold to rival Amdocs for €155m.
Taoglas was co-founded in 2004 by Ronan Quinlan and Dermot O’Shea, who are joint chief executives at the company and the primary shareholders.
Apart from the two founders, shares in the company are also held by Tony McIntyre, an early backer.
Its technology can be used in application such as driverless vehicles, and precision agriculture. It’s also used in healthcare, for providing remote care, disease and lifestyle management, and has applications across other sectors too.
The firm has also provided technology that’s being used in Ireland’s first ever satellite, Eirsat-1, a small cube satellite that is eventually due be to launched by the European Space Agency.
