Exponent, a European private equity firm that is behind 3,000 jobs in Ireland following a series of deals in recent years, has hired former Ireland rugby captain Johnny Sexton as a senior advisor.
Mr Sexton, who stepped down as chief of staff at packaging giant Ardagh Group earlier this year to focus on rugby coaching, is taking on the role in addition to his main gig as kicking coach with the Ireland squad.
Exponent, which was founded 21 years ago by four former senior directors of London-based buyout firm, 3i, has invested over €1 billion in companies in Ireland since 2012. The scale of deals in Ireland has increased significantly since it redomiciled from the UK to Dublin two years ago.
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Last year saw the firm spend €300 million taking over Galway-based generic human and animal drugs maker Chanelle Pharmaceuticals from businessman Michael Burke; pay £300 million to acquire Kingsbridge Healthcare Group, Northern Ireland’s biggest private hospital group; and invest in Dublin-based data centre designer Ethos Engineering for an undisclosed sum.
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Exponent also controls Limerick-headquartered H&MV Engineering, a specialist in high-voltage electrical engineering.
The firm, led by Belfast-born managing partner Richard Lenane, raised £900 million (€1.04 billion) for its fifth fund over the summer. Fund investors include the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF) and AIB.
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“Over my sports career, my principal focus both as a player and a coach has always been on how I could get the best out of my myself and my team-mates to improve team performance,” said Mr Sexton. “[I] look forward to working hands-on with [Exponent’s] team and portfolio companies.”
Mr Sexton became chief of staff for more than 20,000 employees at Ardagh Group on hanging up his boots after the 2023 World Cup. He quit in April to join the British & Irish Lions coaching team, before stepping into the Ireland role full time in August.
Ardagh Group agreed a major debt restructuring in July that will see its driving force, financier Paul Coulson, cede entire control to a group of its bondholders in exchange for a share of a $300 million (€257 million) pay-off.
Exponent is best known in some quarters for its 2016 acquisition of the Racing Post. The publisher of the horse racing paper had previously changed hands in 2007 in a takeover deal engineered by FL Partners, an Irish private equity firm.
In 2017, it shelled out a reported €250 million for Enva, DCC’s former waste management unit. New York buyout firm I Squared Capital subsequently acquired that business two years ago for the equivalent of about €690 million.
It is also a backer of Xeinadin, a provider of accountancy services and business advice for small firms in Britain and Ireland.
