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Belfast Telegraph
3 hours ago
- Business
- Belfast Telegraph
FD Technologies: the story of a Newry tech giant
The journey of FD Technologies, from a bedroom in Conlon's family home to become one of Northern Ireland's biggest technology companies – via an old converted corn warehouse next to the canal in Newry – is remarkable. The software specialist business – which provided products and consulting services to large global financial, technology and energy institutions – evolved from that bedroom to the stock markets of London and Amsterdam. Now another chapter in FD's 30-year journey has been written. In May, 2025, the company, which is headed by Seamus Keating, accepted a takeover bid from a private equity investor from Boston which valued the business at £550m. Donna Troy, chairwoman of FD, said the board unanimously thought the deal, based on an offer for £24.50 per share, 'delivers appropriate value to shareholders'. Over the last 30 years, FD (one of a handful of listed companies from Northern Ireland), grew from its Newry home across the Americas, Europe and Asia. And it has come a long way to get here. Brian Conlon was born in 1966 in Newry. He studied accountancy in Queen's University while playing gaelic football for his native Down. In 1987 he sustained a knee injury during a match for Queen's, forcing early retirement from the sport. He then turned his attention to the capital markets sector where he trained with a major accountancy firm. 'I spent the first year counting concrete and pick-up trucks and wanted something more challenging,' he told the Sunday Independent in an interview in 2008. Like many of his generation, Conlon migrated to London where he joined the risk management team in Morgan Stanley. From there he worked as a capital markets consultant in SunGard, a global derivatives software house. Rather than settle in England, he opted to return home and bring his experience with him. There was a gap in the market, he realised, for software consultancy. 'Most of the software firms were focused on selling the licences and not on services. There was an opening to help banks write financial models and help them with quantitative analysis,' Conlon said in 2008. He established First Derivatives in 1996 in the spare bedroom of his mother's home in Newry, using a £5,000 loan from the Newry Credit Union to help him get started. Years of organic growth followed. In the autumn of 1998, a few months after the signing of the Good Friday Agreement, Brian Conlon took his fledgling team on a trade mission to California's Silicon Valley alongside a handful of other local software companies, including Kainos. California was receptive. The following year Kx Systems, a software company from Paolo Alto which specialsed in financial modelling and data analyses, sold its marketing rights to FD and the two businesses would prove a perfect couple over the following decades. By 2002, First Derivatives had just 26 employees and a £2m turnover, but Conlon decided to float his business on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) in the London Stock Exchange (LSE), initially offering four million shares at a price of 50p per share. 'FD at the start was small of scale but the vision attracted investors,' Ryan Preston, the company's chief financial officer, told Ulster Business in 2022. 'You have to follow up and deliver the vision. When we first floated on the LSE we attracted an investor base that was primarily driven by revenue growth and dividends. We delivered on that very successfully over many years.' Annual reports over the next decade reported consistent profit growth. The company steadily increased its stake in Kx Systems and added more strings to its bow, including the acquisition in 2008 of Market Resource Partners (MRP), a Philadelphia-based business which employed data analytics for software and technology firms. By now Conlon's operations spanned the globe – from Singapore to Sydney, Vienna to Vancouver, London to Los Angeles. The company even purchased residential for its staff. 'We have up to 60 people working in London and 25 in New York so we decided that rather than pay rents we would buy apartments,' Conlon said in 2008. 'It worked because we only bought in nice places like Mayfair and Kensington in London and around Chelsea or the Village in New York.' The world was its stage but Newry remained home for First Derivatives. 'Brian spotted global opportunity where no one else did,' said Justin McNulty, an SDLP MLA who worked at the business. 'But on top of that he combined pride in his home town of Newry with his knowledge that the people of the North have the education and drive to excel.' The business leader was keen to spread some of his knowledge and in 2012 established The First Derivatives Trading Room, NI's first financial trading facility, at Queen's. In June 2019, First Derivatives announced it had taken entire ownership of Kx Systems for $53.8m (£39.9m) in cash. This was an important milestone, Conlon said at the time: 'Since we acquired a controlling stake in Kx in October 2014 we have invested heavily to deliver the performance advantages of our combined solutions, branded as Kx technology, to a range of end-markets.' Sadly, this was his final deal. The following month, July 2019, Brian Conlon died in Newry not long after being diagnosed with cancer. But his baby First Derivatives – which changed its name in 2021 to FD Technologies (to incorporate its three operations, First Derivative, Kx and MRP) – had grown wings of its own. The company was by now a technology powerhouse, providing software and services to major banks and servicing marketing technology and the automotive industry. In 2020 the company 'recognised there was a huge opportunity in Kx, our software business, and we came back to market with an accelerated growth strategy,' said Ryan Preston. FD ultimately decided to restructure the business to focus on Kx, which uses an approach to data analysis that helps companies predict and respond to market conditions in real time. In early 2024, it merged MRP, its marketing technology division, with Contentgine, a US firm. FD retained 49% of this merged entity. Late in 2024 it sold its consulting wing First Derivative to EPAM Systems, a US software company for a reported £205m. Since then, the company has focused on growing subscription sales of Kx products. Following its sale to TA Associates, an investment firm with reported assets under management of over $60bn, will FD have to part ways with Newry? Not necessarily. TA Associates said it intends to keep headquarters in Newry. Some jobs could be subject to 'reorganisation, reduction or redeployment but the deal will 'create greater employment opportunities for existing and future employees over the long term'. FD has come a long way to get here – and it looks as though the journey is not over yet.
Irish Times
3 days ago
- Business
- Irish Times
FD Technologies revenue rises amid strategy shift
FD Technologies said revenue rose in the year to the end of February as the company saw significant strategic progress. The company said revenue for the year was £80.7 million (€95.6 million), a 2 per cent rise year on year. However, the company reported an operating loss of £23.4 million, widening from £15.6 million a year earlier, with an adjusted Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of £6.5 million. In October last year, the company agreed to sell its First Derivatives division to US software company EPAM for £230 million and divesting MRP, leaving leave FD Technologies to focus on KX, another arm of the group, as its sole continuing operation. READ MORE During the second half of the financial year, KX continued to perform well, delivering bookings growth for the fiscal year at the top end of it guidance range with £18 million annual contract value. That was a 33 per cent rise on the same period last year, when the figure was £13.5 million. Annual recurring revenue rose 13 per cent to £81.8 million during the year, a strategic milestone 'As these results demonstrate, momentum is accelerating in KX bookings and ARR growth, and the business is on course to deliver sustainable operating leverage over the long term, with cash EBITDA reaching breakeven in FY27,' chief executive Seamus Keating said. 'Following the completion of the disposal of First Derivative for an enterprise value of £230 million in December 2024, we returned £120 million to shareholders via a tender offer in January 2025, reflecting our commitment to maintaining an efficient balance sheet and maximising shareholder value.' The company has also agreed a takeover deal that will see US private equity fund TA pay £24.50 a share for FD Technologies, valuing the company at £570 million. 'TA has significant experience supporting in high-growth global software businesses, and we believe it is a suitable and appropriate partner for our employees, customers, and other stakeholders,' Mr Keating said. The company has a 'robust pipeline' for the coming financial year, and plans to invest in expanding its customer reach in core sectors, including the financial services sector, boosting innovation, and exploring new markets. 'With accelerating ARR growth and better-than-expected operating leverage, KX delivered a strong performance based on good ongoing execution,' Mr Keating said. 'Our focus for FY26 is to deliver efficient growth and demonstrate progress in delivering the significant operating leverage that is a feature of our business over the long term. We will prioritise our investments to accelerate deployment, time to value and ease of use, further simplifying our product model and enhancing sales productivity.' The company said it expects ARR growth of at least 20 per cent in the coming financial year.
Irish Independent
26-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Independent
The week ahead in business: Tariffs, tech and takeovers
The slew of corporate results of recent weeks tapers off this week. Newry-based FD Technologies will announce full year results on Tuesday, when the focus will be on a recommended offer to take the London-listed Irish fintech private. American private equity firm TA Associates' takeover offer values the data analytics business at €637m, a rare deal in a year when risk appetite for big deals has been sapped by the volatility triggered by Mr Trump's policy shifts. Irish drinks group C&C, also London-listed, has full-year results due on Wednesday. The owner of brands such as Tennent's, Magners, Five Lamps and Orchard Pig has a newly-appointed chief executive in Roger White. But a battered share price, as well as external pressures on its UK business in particular, means he has started on the back foot. In New York, an earnings report from semiconductor giant and artificial intelligence bellwether Nvidia on Wednesday will be a big focus. Nvidia will be the last of the Magnificent Seven megacap tech companies to report results for this period. Its shares have slipped this year after two years of massive gains as AI enthusiasm waned and the Trump administration's moves to isolate Chinese access to cutting edge technology take shape. The company said last month it would take a $5.5bn charge after the US capped exports of its H20 chip to China. At home, the Global Economic Summit is returning to Killarney for the second year from Monday to Wednesday. Speakers will include Micheál Martin, Michael McGrath and Sinéad Fitzmaurice of Transfermate. On Wednesday and Thursday, the Dublin Tech Summit will be held at the RDS. The Future Health Summit – looking at investment into the health sector – at the same venue on Wednesday, will see an address by Health Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill. Dublin will also see the Offshore Wind Conference from Tuesday to Thursday. 'European energy independence has never been more critical. Ireland has six offshore projects within a combined capacity of 4.1GW, that are awaiting planning decisions,' it said. The Central Statistics Office (CSO) will release data on the country's earnings and labour costs for the first quarter on Tuesday, followed by the retail sales index for April on Wednesday.
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Form 8.5 (EPT/RI)-FD Technologies plc
FORM 8.5 (EPT/RI) PUBLIC DEALING DISCLOSURE BY AN EXEMPT PRINCIPAL TRADER WITH RECOGNISED INTERMEDIARY STATUS DEALING IN A CLIENT-SERVING CAPACITY Rule 8.5 of the Takeover Code (the 'Code') 1. KEY INFORMATION (a) Name of exempt principal trader: Investec Bank plc (b) Name of offeror/offeree in relation to whose relevant securities this form relates: Use a separate form for each offeror/offeree FD Technologies plc (c) Name of the party to the offer with which exempt principal trader is connected: Investec is Advisor and Joint Broker to FD Technologies plc (d) Date dealing undertaken: 16th May 2025 (e) In addition to the company in 1(b) above, is the exempt principal trader making disclosures in respect of any other party to this offer? If it is a cash offer or possible cash offer, state 'N/A' N/A 2. DEALINGS BY THE EXEMPT PRINCIPAL TRADER Where there have been dealings in more than one class of relevant securities of the offeror or offeree named in 1(b), copy table 2(a), (b), (c) or (d) (as appropriate) for each additional class of relevant security dealt in. The currency of all prices and other monetary amounts should be stated. (a) Purchases and sales Class of relevant security Purchases/ sales Total number of securities Highest price per unit paid/received Lowest price per unit paid/received Ordinary Purchases 59,818 2,430 2,425 Ordinary Sales 59,318 2,450 2,435 (b) Cash-settled derivative transactions Class of relevant security Product description e.g. CFD Nature of dealing e.g. opening/closing a long/short position, increasing/reducing a long/short position Number of reference securities Price per unit N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A (c) Stock-settled derivative transactions (including options) (i) Writing, selling, purchasing or varying Class of relevant security Product description e.g. call option Writing, purchasing, selling, varying etc. Number of securities to which option relates Exercise price per unit Type e.g. American, European etc. Expiry date Option money paid/ received per unit N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A (ii) Exercise Class of relevant security Product description e.g. call option Exercising/ exercised against Number of securities Exercise price per unit N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A (d) Other dealings (including subscribing for new securities) Class of relevant security Nature of dealing e.g. subscription, conversion Details Price per unit (if applicable) N/A N/A N/A N/A 3. OTHER INFORMATION (a) Indemnity and other dealing arrangements Details of any indemnity or option arrangement, or any agreement or understanding, formal or informal, relating to relevant securities which may be an inducement to deal or refrain from dealing entered into by the exempt principal trader making the disclosure and any party to the offer or any person acting in concert with a party to the offer: Irrevocable commitments and letters of intent should not be included. If there are no such agreements, arrangements or understandings, state 'none' None (b) Agreements, arrangements or understandings relating to options or derivatives Details of any agreement, arrangement or understanding, formal or informal, between the exempt principal trader making the disclosure and any other person relating to: (i) the voting rights of any relevant securities under any option; or (ii) the voting rights or future acquisition or disposal of any relevant securities to which any derivative is referenced: If there are no such agreements, arrangements or understandings, state 'none' None Date of disclosure: 19th May 2025 Contact name: Priyali Bhattacharjee Telephone number: +91-9768034903 Public disclosures under Rule 8 of the Code must be made to a Regulatory Information Service. The Panel's Market Surveillance Unit is available for consultation in relation to the Code's dealing disclosure requirements on +44 (0)20 7638 0129. The Code can be viewed on the Panel's website at in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Tech firm accepts £570m takeover offer from US company
FD Technologies, the Newry-based technology firm, has accepted a £570m takeover offer from a US company. The buyer is TA Associates, a Boston-based private equity investor. Donna Troy, chairwoman of FD Technologies, said the company's board was unanimous that the deal recognised the underlying value of the business and "delivers appropriate value to shareholders". TA Associates said it intended to keep FD Technologies' headquarters in Newry. When the deal is completed it will carry out a "detailed review" of the business over a period of 12 months. It has cautioned that could lead to some jobs being subject to "reorganisation, reduction or redeployment". However, it added it believed the company was well positioned for growth which "will in turn create greater employment opportunities for existing and future employees over the long term". FD Technologies was founded by the late Brian Conlon in 1996, with the name First Derivatives. He grew it to be one of Ireland's most successful technology firms employing around 3,000 people across its global operations. The Conlon family still own about 10% of the business, meaning they will make £57m from the deal. The current chief executive Seamus Keating has a shareholding worth about £1.2m The company has undergone a major restructuring in the last year to focus on its software product known as KX. In December 2024 it completed the sale of its consulting business for a net total of £205m. It had earlier merged its marketing technology division, MRP, with a US firm CONTENTgine. FD Technologies continues to own 49% of the merged firm. The shake-up at the firm came as a so-called activist investor, Irenic Capital Management, became the largest shareholder. These sort of investors frequently buy into a company to force changes, such as selling assets. Error while retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error while retrieving data
