New millionaire tech elite emerges

Top ten

This was the year when Ireland's high technology industry came of age and astute computer literate investors began to reap the rewards.

A steady stream of mergers, acquisitions and flotations created a new millionaire elite on foot of successful gambles on the latest innovations. And where once a personal fortune of a few million made news, the latest crop of movers and shakers of the tech world amassed fortunes in the tens of millions.

1) Mr Gilbert Little

This Dalkey, Co Dublin-based information technology entrepreneur made the headlines in October when he made $60 million (€59 million) from the buyout of Belfast-based telecoms software company APiON by US company Phone.com.

Mr Little was one of the APiON shareholders who received between them 1.3 million Phone.com shares which were worth as much as $290 million at the time.

It was a double success for Mr Little. APiON was formed four years ago by personnel from the Dublin-based mobile phone software company. Mr Little was a founder of Aldiscon and received £9.2 million (€11.68 million) from the buyout of that company by British firm Logica in 1997.

2) Mr Fran Rooney

Following the merger of Baltimore Technologies and UK-based Zergo Holdings in early January, Mr Fran Rooney's company has gone from strength to strength, entering the top 250 companies on FTSE earlier this month.

Baltimore's share price has risen from £4.20 sterling (€6.69) to £46.50 on the London stock exchange this year, an increase which has been fuelled in recent months by the spiral in the value of technology, and particularly ecommerce stocks. Mr Rooney's share of around 4 per cent is valued at about £71 million.

The company is attempting to increase software revenues particularly from the US market where competitors Entrust and VeriSign pose stiff competition.

3) Mr Dermot Desmond

1999 was another bumper year for the millionaire financier, Mr Desmond Desmond, who was back in the public eye in recent weeks through his appearances at the Moriarty Tribunal which has been investigating the financial affairs of former Taoiseach, Mr Charles Haughey.

He made a financial killing in November through the sale of around £55 million worth of shares in Baltimore Technologies in which he was an early - and low-cost - investor. Baltimore's stock has doubled since Mr Desmond sold those shares but by hedging his bets and retaining a 3.5 per cent stake in the company, Mr Desmond continues to be one of the main beneficiaries of Baltimore's success.

Mr Desmond's interests have widened in recent weeks to include a 5.3 per cent stake in Greencore, in which he is now the fourth biggest shareholder. This is on top of significant holdings in Golden Vale and Unidare and other interests ranging from Celtic Football club to London City Airport and Datalex.

4) Mr Samir Naji

Cork businessman, Mr Samir Naji, (37) was the star of the year end when he floated his Horizon Technology Group on the Dublin and London Stock Markets on December 6th. He sold just more than six million shares at £1.29 each as Horizon shares soared to £3.31 on the first day of trading. This valued Mr Naji's remaining 34 million shares at a massive £113 million and represented the biggest opening day gain in the history of the Irish stock market.

5 & 6) Mr Cyril and Mr John McGuire

Brothers, Mr Cyril (39) and Mr John (37) McGuire, were the principal beneficiaries of the sale of 23 per cent of Dublin-based Trintech on the German Neuer Markt and the US Nasdaq exchanges in September. They reduced their shared holding in the electronic payments software company from 48 per cent to 37 per cent which was valued at the time of the listing at £97 million (€123 million).

The brothers' fortunes increased significantly since then. On foot of the huge demand for technology stocks, Trintech became a £1 billion company earlier this month, valuing the McGuires' stake at $504 million.

Trintech's largest market is currently in Germany but 2000 is expected to see a concerted effort to break into the lucrative US market.

7) Mr John Nagle

The telecoms group run by chief executive, Mr John Nagle, doubled its stock market value only a few weeks ago after raising £55.4 million in a share placing and open offer.

The company, which was the first to list on the Developing Companies Market, has engaged in a series of acquisitions which saw it pick up the company Computers in Ireland for £8.75 million and a London-based creditcard company Computercall for £3.53 million. In September, it announced an alliance with Ulster Bank to supply credit-card terminals in Ireland.

ITG is seeking within the next 18 months to develop a propriety network of 10,000 terminals in Ireland and 30,000 in Britain.

8 & 9) Mr Jim Mountjoy and Mr Bryan Alton

Mr Jim Mountjoy, Euristix chief executive officer and Mr Bryan Alton, technical director, became paper millionaires following the sale of the Irish technology company to the US-based Fore Systems in February.

Mr Mountjoy and Mr Alton both held an 18 per cent stake in the company and received shares in Fore systems as payment worth some $14.6 million each.

They and their colleagues, who also benefited from the sale, saw the value of their shares more than double in a matter of months after Fore was taken over by the British electronics group GEC.

10) Bill McCabe

After offloading more than $40 million worth of CBT shares in 1997 before the value of the stock collapsed, Mr Bill McCabe returned to the fold of the educational software company he had founded and purchased more than $1 million worth of stock in January as a confidence building exercise.

But he emerged a substantial winner from the process by backing his own company Knowledge Well into CBT in a share purchase agreement through which he received 2,792,335 CBT shares worth some $48.9 million.

CBT's transformation into the Internet-based training company SmartForce saw its shares take a pounding again in October but the stock has mounted a recovery in the weeks since.

Non-technology high fliers

Doyles Hotel Group:

If the financial markets have been dominated by high-tech fever in the latter stages of this year, one family has shown that it is still possible to make money out of bricks and mortar business.

Four members of the Doyle family received cash and shares worth £187.6 million after Jury's acquisition of Doyle Hotels in April 1999.

Mrs Margaret Doyle, her daughters Mrs Bernie Gallagher, Mrs Eileen Monaghan and Mrs Ann Roche received shares worth £96.8 million, an average of £24.4 million apiece, plus a cash payment of £90.8 million, an average of £22.7 million each.