PlanNet21 sets €100m revenue target after Agile acquisition

Irish technology solutions group PlanNet21 Communications has acquired local rival Agile Networks in a deal that will create a company with combined revenues of €50 million and 110 staff.

The deal was agreed last week and will involve Agile moving its operations into PlanNet's building in Citywest in Co Dublin. There will be no jobs losses as a result of the transaction.

The acquisition price has not been disclosed.

Speaking to The Irish Times, Agile's managing director Darragh Richardson said the companies are aiming to double their revenues in the short term. "The target is to get from €50 million to €100 million. We think that's achievable in a three-year period. When you add the two businesses together you start getting involved in much more material contracts," he said.

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‘Best of both worlds’

According to Richardson, the deal provided Agile with the “best of both worlds”. “We retain our identity and will continue to work with our existing customers, but it also allows us to collaborate and pursue major IT opportunities at home and abroad.”

Founded in 1998 in Galway, PlanNet21 is a Cisco gold partner and a leading provider of managed services. The company plans, builds, supports and manages ICT for large companies.

Its latest accounts show it made a profit of €3.2 million on turnover of €35 million in 2015.

Agile was set up in 2011 and is a niche network integrator. Its clients include telcos Magnet, Digiweb and Three Ireland, the HSE, the Blackrock Clinic and the Department of Justice.

Alliance

Based in Blanchardstown, the company achieved revenues of €9.2 million last year and Ebit (earnings before interest and tax) of €1.4 million.

Mr Richardson was one of 10 shareholders in Agile, with a stake of 36 per cent. He will continue to run Agile and will join the combined group’s overarching leadership team.

Peter Carroll, chief executive of PlanNet21, said the combination would provide "best-of-breed" products and services for customers.

“The alliance brings together some of the best architectural and technical talent in the country and couples it with accreditations from all the leading technology vendors worldwide, thus allowing us to deliver solutions for any business requirement,” he said.