DisplayNote has helped transform the way people interact and collaborate in business and educational environments.
Northern Ireland tech firm DisplayNote Technologies has been acquired by Volaris Group for an undisclosed sum.
The acquisition was confirmed by Kernel Capital, an early stage investor in DisplayNote by way of the Bank of Ireland Kernel Capital Growth Fund (NI).
“DisplayNote are a great example of a local company achieving global success”
Kernel said the transaction will see an “all-cash multiple return” for the fund’s investors.
Accelerated growth
The Fund is part of Invest Northern Ireland’s Access to Finance suite of funds and was designed to help SMEs in Northern Ireland accelerate their growth. Invest Northern Ireland has committed £15m of funding to the Fund, which is part financed by the European Regional Development Fund under the EU Investment for Growth and Jobs Programme 2014-2020.
“Kernel Capital’s support since their initial investment through the Bank of Ireland Kernel Capital Growth Fund has been a key building-block in DisplayNote’s growth as we expanded our global OEM and enterprise customer base,” said Paul Brown, CEO of DisplayNote.
“With Volaris, DisplayNote has found a home that shares our vision and helps us continue to support and expand our customer and partner ecosystem, whilst still innovating and growing the DisplayNote team.”
Volaris acquires, strengthens, and grows vertical market technology companies.
“Our decision to acquire DisplayNote was driven by their customer-first approach and culture of innovation, underpinned by industry-leading technology,” said Rob Turner, group leader at Volaris Group.
“Their vision of strong long-term customer relationships and industry leading innovation aligns with ours, helping position both Volaris and DisplayNote for continued growth.”
“This is a great result for the Bank of Ireland Kernel Capital Growth Fund, which we created as part of Invest NI’s Access to Finance portfolio to provide support to local SMEs like DisplayNote to help them to scale,” said William McCulla, Invest NI’s director of Corporate Finance.
“The company is now well positioned for a new phase of growth and we look forward to seeing it continue to grow in global markets with new partners on board.”
Niall Devlin, head of Business Banking, Bank of Ireland UK added: “DisplayNote are a great example of a local company achieving global success and we are delighted they have benefited from the Bank of Ireland Kernel Capital Growth Fund which was designed to help indigenous companies accelerate their growth.”
Main image at top: Niall Devlin, Head of Business Banking NI at Bank of Ireland; Denise Sidhu, Partner, Kernel Capital; William McCulla, Invest NI’s Director of Corporate Finance; and Paul Brown, founder and CEO of DisplayNote
