Energia’s new French owners have appointed Gary McGann, the Irish boardroom veteran, as chairman of the company following the completion of its takeover last month in a deal said to be worth about €2.5 billion.
The deal marked Paris-based private equity firm Ardian’s maiden acquisition in the State.
McGann, a former chief executive of Smurfit Kappa and Aer Lingus, holds non-executive roles with several high-profile companies.
He is chairman of privately owned Sicon Ltd and of the Irish subsidiary of Aon plc. He also serves as chairman of Teneo Ireland’s advisory board, and is chairman of Allegro.eu, a European ecommerce marketplace operator. He was also previously chairman of Flutter Entertainment and Aryzta.
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“His proven leadership, deep commercial expertise and strong track record in guiding complex organisations will be invaluable as we continue to deliver on our strategy to power the energy transition across the island of Ireland,” said Energia chief executive Ian Thom.
“Gary’s appointment strengthens our ability to meet the evolving needs of customers and the wider economy, while also growing to support national policy goals on climate, energy and enterprise.”
Paul Mulvaney, former managing director of The Irish Times Group and a one-time senior executive with ESB, has also joined Energia’s board as a non-executive director.
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US investment group I Squared, which has owned Energia for a decade, agreed in early October to sell the business to Ardian.
Energia’s earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) edged 1.7 per cent higher to €329.1 million for its financial year to the end of March, according to its latest annual report.
The group includes an electricity and gas supply unit, which has about 885,000 household and business customers; a renewables unit, which owns 383 megawatts of wind assets and purchases electricity from 1.11 gigawatts of third-party green energy producers; and a flexible generation division, mainly made up of two combined cycle gas turbine plants in Huntstown in north Co Dublin.
