Irish software developer CoreHR snapped up by US investors

26 Jan 2016

One of the largest software companies in Cork, CoreHR, has been bought out by one of the largest equity firms in the US, JMI Equity, which has taken a majority stake in the Irish company.

As a company, CoreHR has been around for 34 years as a software provider for companies, specifically for admin and HR roles, and it will now become part of the US firm’s 34 tech companies in which it has invested an estimated €1bn in total.

Announcing the news on its website as a “strategic growth investment”, CoreHR said that, despite JMI Equity owning a majority stake of the company, which has its headquarters in Ballincollig, the company’s founders will retain significant ownership and also remain active within the day-to-day business.

Particularly focused on payroll software, CoreHR’s cloud-based software has achieved considerable success at home and abroad, wth clients including Arcadia, the University of Oxford, Primark and Ladbrokes.

It is now envisioned by both CoreHR and JMI Equity that this new investment – the details of which have not been disclosed – will help the former continue its international expansion to new markets.

“We consider CoreHR to be the best provider of HCM [Human Capital Management] software solutions in its markets. The company has a number of compelling opportunities to expand geographically, add new customers, and deepen its involvement with existing customers,” said David Greenberg, general partner of JMI Equity.

“We believe that the added resources of our team and those of JMI Services will enable CoreHR to accelerate its growth strategy, and we look forward to partnering with the company to help achieve its goals.”

The equity firm also has some sporting connections as well, according to the Irish Independent, as its founders – John Moores and Charles Noell – are believed to be preparing a €265m bid to purchase the Premier League football team, Everton FC.

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Colm Gorey was a senior journalist with Silicon Republic

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