US company set to take over tech firm

A Newry-based technology firm is on the brink of being taken over by a company from the United States.

FD Technologies' board of directors said it had received a number of proposals from TA Associates, a Boston-based private equity company.

The most recent offer was for £24.50 a share, which compares to a closing market price of £19.30 a share a day earlier.

The board said that should TA Associates make a firm offer at £24.50, it was "minded" to tell shareholders they should accept the deal.

That offer would value the business at about £550m.

The business 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 about 3,000 people across its global operations.

The Conlon family still own about 10% of the business.

The company has undergone a major restructuring in the last year to focus on its software product known as KX.

In December 2024, FD Technologies 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.

The likely buyer, TA Associates, mainly invests in financial services and technology firms although it was at one time the owner of Cath Kidston, the British lifestyle brand.