Clonakilty-based fintech firm World Shares is reportedly in superior talks to be acquired by the banking large JP Morgan.
he firm specialises in worker fairness and share possession processes.
It employs over 550 folks at current and has stated it expects to develop to 1,000 folks within the subsequent two years.
The corporate was unavailable to touch upon the acquisition talks, which had been reported by The Foreign money and the Enterprise Submit.
World Shares develops software program and know-how that makes it simpler to arrange and run worker fairness schemes.
Worker share possession is frequent in US tech corporations, together with people who find workplaces in Eire. It’s rarer in European corporations.
Advocates say that it makes staff extra dedicated to their roles in an organization, in addition to pondering of its long-term success.
World Shares prospects embody giants akin to L’Oreal, GSK, Generalli, Cargill and Krispy Kreme.
The corporate was based in 2005 and now has 16 workplaces, from Nashville and New Jersey within the US, to Barcelona and Porto in Europe, to Tokyo, Hong Kong and Beijing in Asia.
It has raised over €27m in non-public fairness, most of which got here in 2018 via a 40pc stake taken by the New York-based know-how funding agency Motive Companions.
Fexco founder Brian McCarthy, Blarney Citadel proprietor Charles Colthurst and KPMG accomplice Eoghan Quigley are additionally amongst those that have invested, as is former chairman Richard Hays.
The corporate’s long-time CEO is Tim Houstoun, whereas its present chairman is Andy Stewart.
The information comes after the variety of Irish tech unicorns – non-public companies valued at over €1bn – rose from 4 to 6 in January. Wayflyer (€134m) and supply tech agency Flipdish (€87m) each signed massive follow-on funding offers because the world’s financiers proceed to ramp up investments in tech and biotech companies as a substitute for low-yield monetary portfolios dogged by low rates of interest.
Final yr, €1.3bn was raised by Irish tech and life sciences corporations, a document haul amid a worldwide increase in enterprise capital finance.
