Acquisition by Bank of Ireland of wealth and capital markets provider Davy confirmed.
Bank of Ireland is to buy Davy’s capital markets and wealth management business for an enterprise value of €440m.
Separately, Luxembourg fund services group IQ-EQ has agreed to buy the remainder of the firm Davy Global Fund Management (DGFM), which employs 80 people.
“Wealth management and capital markets are important parts of our business. Bringing Davy into the Group represents a significant milestone which will considerably enhance our customer offerings and growth outlook for the Group”
Founded in 1926, J&E Davy manages in excess of €16bn of client assets and employs over 800 people including the DGFM business.
Davy has offices in Dublin, Cork, Galway, Belfast, and London, providing wealth management, capital markets advisory services, and DGFM services to its clients.
Bank of Ireland will pay 75pc of the enterprise value of €440m on completion of the deal in 2022, with the balance of 25pc paid two years subject to criteria being met.
Further payments of up to €40m will be payable from 2025 subject to future business performance.
Strategic objectives
Acquiring Davy strongly supports the bank’s commercial and strategic objectives, said group CEO Francesca McDonagh.
Bank of Ireland’s wealth and insurance business currently has over 600,000 customers, including more than 250,000 wealth customers. The acquisition of the market-leader Davy significantly strengthens the range of services available to Group customers including in the high net worth and mass affluent categories.
“When we look at any acquisition, we consider two key things – if it offers value to our shareholders, and if it is a good fit for our business. Davy scores very highly on both,” said McDonagh.
“Wealth management and capital markets are important parts of our business. Bringing Davy into the Group represents a significant milestone which will considerably enhance our customer offerings and growth outlook for the Group. It is our ambition to build on Davy’s unrivalled leadership position in these businesses, while also enabling it to benefit from a range of comprehensive culture, risk and governance programmes that we have successfully introduced in recent years. Accordingly, we see a continuation of the Davy brand and structure, under the Bank of Ireland umbrella.
“We welcome the Davy team and all of Davy’s clients to Bank of Ireland. We look forward to growing our business and enhancing customer propositions across the entire Group in the years ahead.”
Completion of the acquisition is conditional on the satisfaction of customary conditions including approval by the Central Bank of Ireland and the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission.
“Our view throughout this sales process has been that the right owner for Davy is the owner that is right for our client base and people,” said Bernard Byrne, interim chief executive of Davy.
“We are confident that in Bank of Ireland we are joining a Group that supports our vision for the business and presents significant opportunity for all stakeholders, particularly for our clients in supporting their growth ambitions.”
By John Kennedy (john.kennedy3@boi.com)
Published: 22 July 2021
