Davy employees to get €40m as firm repays loans

Davy, Ireland's largest securities firm, is poised to hand employees about €40 million as it repays loans linked to its 2006 management-led buyout, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

The repayment is 1.8 times what workers lent the company to help finance its leveraged buyout from Bank of Ireland, including interest, which accrued at 6 per cent a year, said the people, who declined to be identified because the matter is private.

The business was valued at €350 million in the buyout.

Davy is also offering to buy back staff equity holdings at eight times their 2006 value, as the firm paid down debt and its enterprise value rose to between €400 million and €500 million, said one of the people.

Take up of the offer to cash out may be limited, the person said, given the company is continuing to expand as the economy grows. The number of employees who hold shares in the firm has increased almost 50 per cent to 150 since the buyout, while total jobs at Davy have risen to over 600 from 450.

Davy had net assets of €170 million at the end of last year, according to a summary financial statement on its web site.

"The firm is performing strongly, has a very robust balance sheet and continues to invest in servicing our clients," Pat Walsh, a spokesman for Davy, said in response to questions. He declined to comment on the payments.

Established in 1926, Dublin-based Davy accounted for 43 per cent of all Irish equities dealings last year and advises almost two-thirds of companies listed on the Dublin bourse, according to its website.

Three years ago, it took over the asset management and private clients business of Bloxham, the country’s oldest stockbroker, which collapsed in May 2012.

Bloomberg