Services

For all businesses, an acquisition is a major strategic step. At IBI Corporate Finance, we tailor every transaction uniquely to the needs of each client, putting significant time into defining acquisition strategy, sourcing acquisition targets, valuing target companies, structuring transactions optimally to minimise purchaser risk, sourcing debt and equity funding to finance transactions and project-managing legal and due diligence processes to completion.

All disposals, whether full or partial, require delicate and experienced handling to ensure the interests of the various stakeholders are taken into account. As the most active sell-side adviser in the Irish market, IBI Corporate Finance has that experience. Key to IBI’s success has been our ability to identify the most relevant potential acquirers and maximise competitive tension between different potential purchasers.

At IBI Corporate Finance our equity fundraising activities include public offers (offers for sale, rights issues, open offers, placings), growth capital fundraisings and private placements.

For firms looking for private capital, IBI is ideally positioned to identify various sources, from traditional venture capitalists and institutional investors to strategic investors or other third-party providers.

We also advise clients on the optimal capital structure for their businesses, financial implications of an equity issue, timing considerations and current market conditions and investor sentiment.

For clients considering raising debt or refinancing, IBI has a specialist focus on the public and private debt markets. In many cases, we advise on transaction-led debt funding requirements such as:

- Acquisition funding

- Shareholder recapitalisation events, including Management Buy-Outs

- Capital expansion projects

In addition, we advise clients on matters ranging from renegotiating/amending existing facilities to full refinancing of debt facilities.

We have strong relationships with the main Irish, UK and international banks operating in Ireland. Our independent status allows us to negotiate with the banking institutions and specialist lenders to secure the best structure and terms for our clients without any conflicts of interest.

Our focus is on maximisation of competitive tension amongst potential debt providers to ensure optimum solutions on the best possible terms.

IBI Corporate Finance also offers a tailored strategic restructuring service to businesses experiencing financial difficulties, as well as to shareholders, creditors and other stakeholders.

As part of its overall offering, IBI offers strategic and other advice to public, private and semi-state clients in many areas such as public company defence reviews, strategic reviews, financial planning, corporate valuations and shareholder conflict analysis.

IBI Corporate Finance acquired a 50% stake in a specialist Dublin-based M&A advisor in October 2021. BXI (Broker Exchange Ireland) is focused on facilitating and advising on transactions amongst independent brokers working in the Insurance and Wealth Management sectors.

BXI was founded by Shay Keane in 2019. Shay had previously sold Le Chéile Group (a credit union advisory firm) to various investment and insurance firms (2014) and PSL Consulting (a pensions consulting firm) to IFG plc (2008). He has a long career in the financial services sector working with companies including Mercer, Bank of Ireland Asset Management, and Irish Life.

The traditional world of insurance and wealth management brokers is undergoing a period of rapid consolidation and change. There have been some very high-profile, landmark transactions at the top end of the financial services market and particularly the wealth management and insurance sectors in the past few years but brokers at the smaller end of the market are going through a similar process. Regulatory and compliance costs are increasing significantly, many smaller brokers with owner-managers are looking to exit the market and you have a new generation of Irish and international players looking to bring various parties together to increase market share and leverage greater economies of scale. IBI believes there will be a significant volume of transactions in this sector over the rest of the decade and we’re delighted to back Shay who has vast experience and connections across the broker market.