Version 1 Buys Into Digital Acceleration
Version 1 has been an IT services consolidator domestically and abroad for many years, growing to a sizeable €128m turnover in 2019, half of which is generated in Ireland. That total increased by €13m with the acquisition of Singlepoint Services in March 2020.
The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission ran the rule over the deal, noting that nobody has a clear idea of the size of the IT consultancy services market – estimates range from €1.6bn to €4.7bn.
In 2018, Version 1 Holdings Ltd booked a net profit of €11m on revenue of €117m, with the operating profit margin coming in at 11.1%. That was after accountings for 880 people on the payroll on average salaries of €65,000 p.a.
Singlepoint was established by Rob Curley (47) in 2005 and in 2017 Brian Seery (42) and William Waldron (42) became directors. Curley had c.57% of the equity with the other two directors on 21% each. Though deal consideration was not disclosed, it is likely they all became millionaires from the Version 1 deal.
Version 1 wanted Singlepoint to boost its cloud and digital capabilities. Curley and his colleagues had developed DAPx, billed as a digital acceleration platform to help customers rapidly deliver digital transformation projects. Unveiled in 2018, DAPx
was well received, with the company growing net profit that year to €800,000 from €580,000 the year before. Year-end trade debtors were €1.1m and there was another €1m of prepayments.
Filings disclose that Version 1’s consideration was a mix of cash and shares, and the sales process involved four Version 1 group companies buying and issuing shares to each other.