Canadian company paid €40m for majority stake in Cork-based Voxpro
A MAJORITY stake in Cork-based outsourcing company Voxpro was sold to Canadian firm Tenus for just under €40m, figures released last week reveal.
According to third-quarter financials from call centre giant Tenus, a 55pc stake was bought for a cash consideration of CA$58m (€39m). The main beneficiaries of the deal are founders husband and wife team Linda and Dan Kiely. The Canadian company said that it had also entered into a put and call option for the remaining 45pc of the shares beginning in 2021.
If the option is exercised, the total consideration is estimated to be approximately CA$152m (€102.7m). Typically achieving this price would be linked to meeting challenging targets.
“The investment was made with a view to expanding further into supporting customers who provide internet-related services and products, bolstering sales capabilities in our chosen markets, and acquiring multi-site redundancy in support of other facilities,” said Tenus.
The deal was announced in August and at the time it was speculated that the Irish company had been sold to Tenus for €150m.
The company’s most recent accounts showed that it had revenues of €33m in 2015 and profits of €3m. Earlier this year, Mr Kiely had said that the firm’s revenues would soon reach €100m. He also said that the company was seeking to raise finance in the “tens of millions” for aggressive expansion into Asia.
Founded in Cork 20 years ago, the company has built up expertise in high-end support for some of the world biggest name tech companies. Voxpro, which has 2,700 employees, has call centres in Cork, Dublin, Bucharest, Manila and in the US cities of Athens and Folsom.