Irish duo lead EUR37m MBO of golf firm

Two Irish businessmen have led a €37 million management buyout (MBO) of a leading manufacturer of golf accessories in the UK.

Mr Rossa McDermott and Mr Fergus O'Rafferty were named as the lead partners in a combined equity and debt buyout of Kent-based European Golf Brands Ltd (EGB). They were joined in the deal by managing director Mr John deGraft-Johnson and UK sales director Mr David Wells.

The MBO bought out majority shareholders, former EGB chairman Mr Michael Snapes and venture capitalist Close Brothers. Mr Snapes took over the business in 2000, but is leaving to pursue other interests.

Dublin-based BDO Simpson Xavier secured the funding on the deal. The MBO was backed by venture capital company Graphite Capital. Barclays Bank provided the MBO with loan financing.

The parties did not reveal the debt-equity breakdown yesterday. It is understood that it is in line with the one-third shares, one-third debt that is standard in most deals of this kind.

EGB is a leading manufacturer of electrically-powered golf trollies. It had sales last year in the region of £20 million sterling (€29 million).

It sells 70,000 units worldwide, around 10 per cent of them in Ireland. The company is the official supplier of this equipment to the European Professional Golf Association.

Dublin-based Mr McDermott has spent most of his career in the US, where he worked for Hewlett Packard and ran his own gym supplies business, Cybex. His expertise is in international sales, and he will be focused on increasing EGB's share of the European and US markets.

Mr O'Rafferty is an Irish Canadian, who is also experienced in international sales. He will be chairman of the new company.

Yesterday, BDO Simpson Xavier senior manager Mr Louis O'Neill predicted that mergers and acquisitions activity would pick up this year. "Our phones have been buzzing with enquiries from people back from holidays who are interested in doing something," he said.

"Overall we would be confident about things going forward. MBOs and buyouts still have lots of appeal and there are lots of opportunities coming up again and values are about right."