JP Morgan reported to be close to buying Cork’s Global Shares

Clonakilty-headquartered company Global Shares is reported to be in advanced talks with JP Morgan over a multimillion euro takeover.

The fintech company, a creator of solutions for employee share ownership in both public and private companies, declined to comment on the bid, which was first reported by The Currency.

Global Shares, led by Tim Houstoun, last year revised its revenue guidance upwards after a huge surge in demand for its products. It forecast full-year revenues of $44 million (€39.7 million), versus a previous estimate of $39 million in sales.

The company also announced plans at that point to create more than 200 jobs by the end of 2022. The new roles were in addition to 150 jobs announced a year earlier. When hiring is completed, headcount will stand at around 550 people.

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Founded in 2005, the company originally operated as a low margin service business. However under Mr Houstoun's stewardship it has transitioned to becoming a leading global provider of employee share management products. Its main competitors are Morgan Stanley and the Australian company Computershare.

Valuation

Global Shares customers include Saudi Aramco, L'Oréal, Krispy Kreme, Bosch, Bose and Cargill, the world's largest privately owned company.

Speaking to The Irish Times last year, Mr Houstoun said his ambition was to make Global Shares, west Cork’s first tech unicorn. He said then that he hoped to float the company in 2024 once it reaches a valuation of more than $1 billion.

Mr Houstoun estimated revenues would need to be in or around $125 million by that time with Global Shares lining up a new founding round this year.

Motive Partners, a US private equity company backed by the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF), took a 40 per cent stake in Global Shares for $25 million in 2018, in a move that valued the company at $62.5 million.

Headed by Jamie Dimon, JP Morgan is one of the biggest investment banks globally with a record $48.3 billion in profit in 2021. It employs 271,025 people worldwide.