Partnership to offer funding options for 'later stage' ventures

NCB CORPORATE Finance has teamed up with technology-focused US investment bank Needham Co to help “later stage” Irish technology firms to access funding, partnerships or trade sales.

Since 1985, Needham has advised on more than 500 flotations which have raised in excess of $36 billion and has been involved as an adviser on more than 275 mergers and acquisitions with a total value of over $19 billion (€13.4 billion). It was one of the underwriters for Google’s initial public offering in 2005.

“There has been a wave of renewed interest in Irish technology companies in the last 12-18 months,” said Liam Booth, head of corporate finance with NCB. “We think that’s very sustainable, so the time is right for a partnership like this.”

Mr Booth said the partnership would cover the full gamut of transactions that Irish firms might be interested in, from IPOs to raising venture capital or private equity investments. He said a number of “more substantial” Irish companies were now considering floating on the US markets.

The sales of CarTrawler, Web Reservations International and Trintech also showed that US private equity firms were interested in Ireland.

“On the acquisitions side, Needham has been telling us that a lot of US companies are looking to expand to Europe, and Ireland is a natural beachhead for them,” said Mr Booth. He said these deals might not be outright acquisitions of Irish firms but might take the form of joint ventures or other partnerships.

Mr Booth said NCB expected to start investor roadshows for Irish technology firms to meet potential investors on both the east and west coasts of the US soon.

NCB Corporate Finance is advising a number of technology companies on transactions and its venture capital fund has made seven of its nine investments in the space. “Despite the current economic challenges, we believe Ireland will continue to spawn some outstanding technology companies with very real international market and investment potential,” said Andy Malik, chairman of Needham.