Deals done this past week


27 Jun 2011

An overview of the week in deals in the Irish technology sector.

Legal Aid Board chooses System Dynamics for major IT project

The Legal Aid Board is to implement a new legal case management system as the backbone of its work processes, tracking all cases from the application stage through service delivery to closure and archival.

The independent, publicly funded agency has awarded the contract to System Dynamics, one of Ireland’s largest, indigenous IT services providers. The project is to begin immediately and is anticipated to take 15 months, covering development and rollout phases. The value of the deal has not been disclosed.

Cork-based SensL signs €1m contract with European Space Agency

Cork company SensL has signed a €1m, three-year, multi-project contract with the European Space Agency (ESA).

SensL develops advanced silicon photomultipliers which detect low levels of light and are used for many purposes, such as medical imaging, biophotonics, hazard detection and LIDAR, replacing vacuum tube photomultipliers with a silicon sensor.

The contract involves the deployment of SensL’s silicon photomultipliers for range-finding LIDAR cameras to determine the location of suitable terrain for lunar landings. They will be used to look at light levels down to its photo level and to provide a visual map of an area that a rover will land on and operate in.

The technology will also be used in gamma-ray spectroscopy for element and isotope analysis.

AdaptiveMobile acquires Sentry Wireless

Dublin-headquartered mobile security player AdaptiveMobile has bought Digital Hub-based Sentry Wireless for an undisclosed sum.

Sentry has developed handset security technologies, such as anti-spam and anti-bullying software, and in recent years scooped top awards at GSMA Asia.

The acquisition will enable AdaptiveMobile to help operators provide consumers with handset applications to report mobile spam, manage their privacy and personal data, and be protected against new threats.

Historic wind energy-sharing deal between Ireland and UK

The Irish Wind Energy Association (IWEA) has welcomed the signing of a historic deal between Ireland and the UK government that will potentially pave the way for exploiting Ireland’s wind energy resources.

Responding to the announcement following last week’s British Irish Council meeting of a deal to co-operate on exploiting the major wind and marine resource in and around Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man, Irish Wind Energy Association chief executive Dr Michael Walsh said it may be seen in time as a milestone moment for Ireland in terms of maximising the potential of the wind sector.

“It’s early days yet and we await the detail of what’s in the deal but it certainly is a major step in the right direction and potentially paves the way for what we believe could be a €1.6bn annual export industry for Ireland and total new employment in the sector of 28,000 jobs.”

UK recruitment group ReThink takes over Berkley in Ireland

Irish provider of resourcing and outsourcing services Berkley has been taken over by UK recruitment company The ReThink Group in a deal initially valued at €2.65m.

In conjunction with the acquisition, Berkley has appointed Stephen Greenwood and Fergal Brosnan as executive directors of the company with immediate effect. 

Brosnan will be managing director of Europe for The Berkley Group, while Greenwood will be CEO of Asian operations for The ReThink Group.

“This acquisition marks a significant step in our growth strategy, increasing our geographic coverage while simultaneously driving expansion into other high-value recruitment markets,” said Jon Butterfield, chief executive of The ReThink Group.

“Berkley operates in markets that complement the existing ReThink operations and has a presence in sectors we have identified as offering exciting opportunities.”

Berkley services clients across Europe and Asia and its strong track record in pharmaceutical and life sciences brings new divisional coverage to the enlarged group.

“The new combined entity will extend Berkley’s reach into other geographic markets, such as the UK and the Middle East, and will provide scale and support to Berkley’s expanding European and Asian operations,” said Brosnan.

Link up between Supersun and LateDeals.ie to create jobs

A Dublin-based travel agency set up earlier this year, Supersun, has been awarded the fulfilment licence for the travel website LateDeals.ie, which is expected to create a number of new jobs.

“We are delighted with this opportunity to work with LateDeals.ie given its leading position within the online travel industry. Recent market research has indicated that consumers are increasingly leaving it to the last minute to book their holidays, a trend which compliments the LateDeals.ie product,” said director of Supersun, Juan Cullen.

In line with the new developments, Supersun will be launching further websites and new brands of its own to target niche travel sectors.

“Customers are increasingly seeking out bespoke holidays, with the traditional package deal no longer being the only option. We will be catering for the growing demand for cruises, tailor-made, long-haul and niche family holidays,” said Cullen.

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