Latest news with #WilliamFry
Irish Independent
29-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Independent
Potential William Fry – Eversheds merger called off
Merger talks had been underway since late last year and a likely deal had been well flagged. However, it is understood the commercial terms could not be agreed following a due diligence process. The firms confirmed the deal was off. 'Eversheds Sutherland Ireland and William Fry have been in exploratory discussions regarding a possible combination. After careful consideration, we have agreed that the interests of our respective firms are best served by remaining separate. Both firms will continue to focus on their individual strategic growth priorities,' they said. A merger would have pushed the combined firm into the top five Irish law firms by size, with a combined 323 practicing solicitors, according to Law Society figures for 2024. William Fry is a mainstay of the top tier of Irish corporate law firms, but its relatively small size at 216 solicitors compared to Matheson and A&L Goodbody with 371 solicitors each in 2024. Consolidation in the legal sector in recent years has included cross-border mergers such as UK-based professional services firm Davies' acquisition of Dublin-based law firm O'Brien Lynam Solicitors (OBL) to add to its legal arm, Keoghs. But domestic mergers are also continuing. Law firms ByrneWallace and LK Shields agreed to merge last year to create Byrne Wallace Flynn O'Driscoll announced a merger with Vincent & Beatty.
Irish Times
29-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
William Fry ends merger talks with Eversheds' Irish arm
William Fry, one of the largest corporate law firms in the State, has walked away from merger talks with senior representatives from the Irish affiliate of UK-based Eversheds Sutherland. Staff at William Fry were informed of the development on Thursday afternoon, a little over five months after the discussions first emerged. It is understood that both sides failed to agree on commercial terms after William Fry carried out due diligence. 'After careful consideration, we have agreed that the interests of our respective firms are best served by remaining separate and accordingly both firms will instead focus on their individual strategic growth priorities,' William Fry said in a statement. The move comes less than month after the firm's managing partner Stephen Keogh was quoted as saying in an interview of the 'complimentary mindset' of both firms and that the Eversheds team 'will hopefully be joining us someday soon'. READ MORE More to follow...
Irish Examiner
26-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Examiner
Small firms lose out in venture capital splurge
Venture capital investment into Irish firms rose significantly during the first three months of the year to €532.8m but smaller firms have lost out as deal volume and value in their category fall, a new report has found. According to the Irish Venture Capital Association VenturePulse survey, published in association with William Fry, venture capital investment transactions increased by over 100% compared to the same period last year. In total, there were 43 venture capital investments completed between January and March but these were heavily weighted towards higher value transactions. Deals valued at €30m or higher accounted for €296.8m of the total venture capital spend during the first quarter. Funding in the €10m and €30m range rose by 184% to €132m, funding between €5m and €10m grew 138% to €43.8m while deals between €3m and €5m increased 346% to €35m. However, deals valued between €1m and €3m fell by 5% to €21.6m and deals under €1m fell by 42% to €3.6m with the number of deals in this category also dropping from 21 in early 2024 to six this year. Seed funding, or first rounds raised by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), fell to €39.3m from €40.4m the previous year. Gerry Maguire, chairperson of the Irish Venture Capital Association (IVAC) noted that over 80% of the total in this quarter was 'due to deals worth over €10m' adding that the picture for start-ups raising under €3m was less rosy and this may reflect an imbalance in the market. The report showed the highest value deals during the first quarter included home lab test kits and healthcare solutions company Let's get Checked which raised €150m, Cybersecurity firm Tines which raised €115m followed by AI company Protex AI which raised €31.8m. Rounding out the top five were drone delivery firm Manna at €27m and medical technology manufacturer Perfuze at €22m. The first quarter of the year concluded before US president Donald Trump announced a raft of tariffs on all imports coming into the US so the full impact of the change was not captured in this report. Mr Maguire said that anecdotal evidence suggested that the uncertainty and caution caused by this, especially amongst international investors, is likely to show up in following quarters. Sarah-Jane Larkin, director general of the IVCA said that funding by international venture capital into Irish companies rose to 82% of the total, compared to 71% in the same quarter last year. 'This is a double-edged sword. While it reflects the high quality and potential of Irish tech firms and demand by overseas investors, it also reflects Ireland Inc's vulnerability to international influences if the tide goes out,' she said. According to the report, 45% of all the venture capital investment during this period went into the life sciences sector while 22% went to cybersecurity, and 9% went to software. Fintech investment and AI investment accounted for 8% and 7% respectively. Enterprise Ireland, the State agency responsible for growing indigenous Irish businesses, invested in five companies during the first quarter, according to the report. Of these, two were AI firms, Assidious Corp and Euryka AI, one is an virtual reality firm, VRAI, one was a medical technology firm Proverum, and the last was a whiskey cask exchange company LYQD. The VenturePulse survey data covers equity funds raised by Irish SMEs and other SMEs headquartered on the island of Ireland from a wide variety of investors. This research is based on the latest detailed information supplied internally by members of the IVCA and from published information where IVCA members were not involved.
RTÉ News
26-05-2025
- Business
- RTÉ News
VC funding into Irish SMEs soars in first quarter to €533m
Venture capital funding into Irish SMEs jumped to €532.8m in the first quarter of 2025, new figures from the Irish Venture Capital Association Venture Pulse survey shows. This was a record for a first quarter and marked a year-to-year increase of over 100%. The survey is carried out in association with William Fry. It showed that deals in the €30m+ category grew by nearly 90% to €296.8m, while funding in the €10m-€30m range soared by 184% to €132m. Meanwhile, deals between €5m-€10m jumped by 138% to €43.8m and funding in the €3-€5m surged by 346% to €35m from €7.8m the previous quarter. But deals in the €1m-€3m category fell by 5% to €21.6m, while deals under €1m fell by 42% to €3.6m from €6.2m the previous year. The IVCA said there was big a big fall in the number of deals in this category, down from 21 to six. Seed funding, or first rounds raised by SMEs, fell by 3% to €39.3m from €40.4m the previous year, it added. The total number of deals in the first quarter was 43, slightly ahead of the same quarter last year when the number of deals came to 41. Top five deals in the first quarter were lifescience company, Let's get Checked which raised €150m. Cybersecurity firm Tines raised €115m followed by AI company, Protex AI (€31.8m), drone delivery firm, Manna (€27m) and medical technology manufacturer, Perfuze (€22m). The first quarter excluded the impact of US "Liberation Day" tariffs on April 2, Gerry Maguire, Chairperson of Irish Venture Capital Association, said anecdotal evidence suggested that the uncertainty and caution caused by this, especially amongst international investors, is likely to show up in following quarters. Sarah-Jane Larkin, director general, IVCA said that funding by international venture capital into Irish companies rose to 82% of the total, compared to 71% in the same quarter last year. "This is a doubled edged sword. While it reflects the high quality and potential of Irish tech firms and demand by overseas investors, it also reflects Ireland Inc's vulnerability to international influences if the tide goes out," she added,
Irish Times
04-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
One in five Irish households are millionaires
One in five Irish households are millionaires on the back of rocketing property prices, The Business Post reports. An analysis by wealth managers, Fordel, calculates that Irish household wealth was €1.3 trillion, or €663,630 on average, last year. That was almost double the €716 billion recorded at the peak of the property bubble in 2007. Fordel's report, written by Caoimhe Lane, investment analyst and Oliver Mooney, chief investment officer, says Irish household wealth now ranks second to Luxembourg in Europe. They say households benefit from technology, pharmaceutical, financial services and aircraft leasing firms locating here. READ MORE Legal merger a big shake-up Solicitors' William Fry's merger with rivals Eversheds Sutherland will be one of the biggest shake-ups in the Irish legal market for years, according to The Sunday Business Post. In an interview, William Fry's managing partner, Stephen Keogh, says that should it go ahead, it will boost the number of lawyers in his firm to more than 320 from 216 currently. The deal would also move William Fry to fourth place from sixth in the league table of Irish solicitors' firms. He argues that growth in the Irish legal market is more difficult now than 20 years ago, and the proposed merger could provide a 'huge injection' in both headcount and revenue. US students seek places The number of US students looking to study at Irish universities is soaring as third-level institutions face increased pressure from president Donald Trump's administration, The Sunday Independent says. 'Since Trump came to power in January, interest from US students in on-campus Bachelor's and Master's programmes in Ireland – at locations including Trinity College Dublin – rose by 63pc in the first quarter of 2025 compared to the same period last year,' says the newspaper. The figures, from global student search platform, Studyportals, indicate that the Republic is now Europe's sixth biggest market for US students. Intel sees Irish operations as 'critical' Kevin O'Buckley, who leads Intel's foundry business, has said the chipmaker's Irish operations are critical to its future, the Business Post reports. His comments come amid concerns for jobs at the Leixlip operation, with a restructuring under way aimed at turning around the troubled business. Last month the company said it would be reducing its global workforce by 20 per cent. But O'Buckley suggested Irish operations were a key part of the company's plan. 'As customer demand drives us to expand our capacity in [new chip making processes] or further, places like Ireland could be ideal,' O'Buckley said at the company's Direct Connect event, in San Jose, California. 'By far, the most advanced silicon in the EU today, in Europe, is coming from Intel's fabs in Ireland. 'Ireland is an incredibly important facility for us,' he added. Norway to US AI in buying shares Norway's $1.8 trillion oil fund, one of the world's biggest buyers of shares, expects to AI to save it $400 million a year in trading costs, The Financial Times reports. Nicolai Tangen, the sovereign wealth fund's chief executive, tells the newspaper that its trading bill is $2 billion annually, and it hopes that new technology will knock $400 million off that total. The fund, the proceeds of the Scandinavian country's oil and gas reserves, owns 1.5 per cent of every listed company globally on average and executes 46 million individual trades a-year. Its AI programmes predict the fund's buying and selling patterns.
