Volkswagen franchise owner O'Flaherty Holdings, one of the biggest privately-held businesses in the State, has moved into the digital imaging sector with the acquisition of C3, a rapidly expanding firm with significant interests in Britain.
O'Flaherty Holdings is understood to have paid between £10 million and £20 million (€14.95-€29.9 million) for C3, whose parent Kelvinside Group is based in Dublin. The Irish group, which had a turnover last year of €993 million, aims to treble C3's sales to £50 million within three years.
Beneficiaries of the deal include Kelvinside and C3 chairman Brian Molloy, who will stay in the digital imaging business with the firm's existing management team. The other beneficiaries are: Clondalkin Group, Delta Partners, IIB Bank and businessmen Bernard Somers, Henry Lund and Tom Toner.
Mr Molloy set up Kelvinside in 1996 after raising a £7 million investment. He developed a portfolio of interests in the digital imaging and marketing services sectors with the intention of selling them after a set period.
Following the disposal of C3, Mr Molloy said Kelvinside aimed to sell its other operations - in the plastic card and packaging sectors - within six months.
Mr Molloy and his investors established C3 in 1998 when they bought a small digitial imaging firm in Liverpool. In addition to Liverpool, C3 now has operations in Dublin, London, Cardiff, Glasgow, Bristol, Colchester, Newcastle, Nottingham and Manchester.
On sales of £15 million last year, the company made operating profits of £2.24 million and £3 million in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation. Clients include Zara, the Spanish fashion retailer.
According to Mr Molloy, the firm provides small format print services, large-format graphics and grand-format graphics. "We supply everything from business cards to giant building wraps."
C3 was advised by British firm Livingstone Guarantee while O'Flaherty Holdings was advised by Dublin corporate finance firm Key Capital, he said.
O'Flaherty Holdings controls Volkswagen dealer Motor Distributors Ltd and companies that manufacture aerial lifts for the US and European markets. The group made pretax profits last year of €53.03 million.
A spokesman for O'Flaherty Holdings declined to comment on the transaction last night.
The group is controlled by the family of the late Stephen O'Flaherty, a Waterford man who secured the Irish distribution rights for the German-made Volkswagen marque in the immediate aftermath of the second World War. Shareholders Nigel, Stephen and Michael O'Flaherty, and Karen Morrison-Bell received dividends last year of €20 million.
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