Articles & Analysis

Week of 2026-W33

Business Post Weekly Intelligence Briefing | Business Post

Business Post Weekly Intelligence Briefing

Week of 10–16 August 2026: M&A, Markets & the Stories Behind the Headlines

Source: ARTICLES | Period: 2026-08-10 to 2026-08-16

Weekly Intelligence Briefing | 10–16 August 2026

A week of Irish corporate transformation: a €1.2bn ferry buyout, a €900m data centre deal, and two tech giants circling Dublin — all in seven days

The week of 10–16 August 2026 was one of the most active for Irish corporate activity in recent memory. Irish Continental Group's management buyout cleared a critical hurdle as ISS endorsed the €8-per-share offer, while Kingspan announced a €900m acquisition that repositioned it squarely in the data centre infrastructure race. Meanwhile, Workday's Dublin holding companies — quietly registered in January — suddenly looked prescient as Silver Lake takeover reports sent the stock soaring. The common thread: Ireland's role as a staging ground for global capital is deepening, not retreating.

149

Articles Published This Week

€1.2bn

ICG Management Buyout Value

€900m

Kingspan BMC Acquisition

+7.56%

Kingspan Share Gain (Mon)

$47bn

Anthropic Revenue Run Rate

By the Numbers

Metric	Value	Signal
ICG takeover offer price	€8.00 per share	ISS Endorsed
Kingspan Advnsys H1 profit growth	+45%	Data Centre Surge
Workday Q1 2026 sales	$2.54bn (+13% YoY)	Takeover Target
Avolon Q2 net income growth	+45% YoY	Record Quarter
Ardagh AMP EBITDA growth (Q1)	+15%	Sale Ready
Pinergy electricity price rise (Sept)	+7.6%	Consumer Impact
OpenAI revenue run rate	$40bn+ (doubled YoY)	IPO Approaching
H&MV Engineering valuation	€1.4bn	Irish Champion

Business Post AI Pick: The ICG Buyout Is the Story of the Week The endorsement by Institutional Shareholder Services of Eamonn Rothwell's €1.2bn take-private of Irish Continental Group is more than a corporate transaction — it is a test case for management-led buyouts in Ireland. CRO records confirm Rothwell has been a director of Irish Ferries Limited since 31 January 1992, a 34-year tenure that gives him unmatched institutional knowledge. The BidCo vehicle, Dublin Ferryport Container Terminals Limited, was registered at the same Alexandra Road address in October 2025 — months before the public announcement. The question for shareholders: is €8 per share the right price for a company whose management knows its value better than anyone?

Pattern of the Week: Ireland as a Holding Company Hub Under Pressure Two new Workday unlimited companies registered in Dublin in January 2026 — weeks before Silver Lake takeover reports emerged. This is a pattern worth watching: CRO filings often telegraph corporate restructuring before it becomes public. The same dynamic played out with the ICG BidCo registration in October 2025. For readers who track the CRO register, the signals were there.

The Investigation: Irish Corporate Activity, 10–16 August 2026

Over the past seven days, Business Post coverage of 149 articles revealed a concentrated burst of Irish corporate activity — dominated by M&A, private equity manoeuvring, and the ongoing AI infrastructure arms race. The week's stories are not isolated events: they form a pattern of Irish companies either being acquired, restructuring for sale, or pivoting aggressively toward the data economy. Oisín Gaffey (48 articles), Stephen O'Reilly (13), and Dominic McGrath (5) drove the bulk of the corporate coverage.

Company	Story	Value	Signal
Irish Continental Group	ISS backs €1.2bn management buyout	€1.2bn	ISS Endorsed
Kingspan Group	€900m BMC Manufacturing acquisition	€900m	Data Centre Play
Ardagh Group	AMP readied for sale post-restructuring	TBC	Creditors Acting
Workday Ireland	Silver Lake takeover reports; shares soar	Undisclosed	PE Target
Avolon Aviation	Boeing 737 sale-leaseback; Q2 net income +45%	$1.5bn debt financing	Record Quarter
Quanta Capital / Accell Group	Dublin firm eyes insolvent Dutch bike maker	TBC	Distress Opportunity
Aviva / Direct Line	Operating profit +24%; Direct Line integration	£3.7bn acquisition	Integration Gains

Sector Breakdown: Where the Stories Are

Technology / AI

48 articles

Markets / Finance

32 articles

Irish Corporate M&A

24 articles

Energy / Commodities

16 articles

Property / Commercial RE

8 articles

Financial Performance: Irish Companies in Focus

Company	Key Metric	Performance	Context
Kingspan	Advnsys H1 profit	+45%	Data centre unit driving group; shares +5.5% on week
Avolon	Q2 net income	+45% YoY	Record quarter; $1.5bn debt financing secured
Workday	Q1 2026 sales	$2.54bn (+13%)	Better than expected; Silver Lake interest follows
Ardagh AMP	Q1 EBITDA growth	+15%	Creditors readying for sale at peak earnings
Aviva (Ireland)	H1 operating profit	£1.33bn (+24%)	Direct Line integration boosting premiums
Entain (Ladbrokes)	H1 net gaming revenue	+5% group	UK gambling tax rise offset by online growth
Dole	Q2 revenue	$2.5bn (+2.8%)	Modest growth; challenging operating environment

Read All 149 Articles →

The Connections: What the Official Record Reveals

Business Post articles tell you what happened. CRO filings, court records, and property data tell you what was already in motion. This week, the gap between public narrative and official record is particularly striking: three of the week's biggest stories were telegraphed months in advance by quiet CRO registrations. Here is what the data adds to the journalism.

ICG Buyout: The CRO Told the Story First Business Post reported that ISS backed the €1.2bn ICG management buyout this week. CRO records show the story began much earlier. Dublin Ferryport Container Terminals Limited — the BidCo vehicle — was registered at B&I Ferryport, Alexandra Road, Dublin 1 on 1 October 2025, with Eamonn Rothwell, David Ledwidge, Andrew Sheen, and Declan Freeman as directors — the exact same management team now leading the bid. The reality: the buyout was structured and ready to launch at least nine months before ISS weighed in. Shareholders opposing the €8 offer should note that management had already done the legal groundwork before the public announcement.

Kingspan's Data Centre Pivot: A Cavan Company Bets on the AI Boom Business Post reported that Kingspan acquired Meath-based BMC Manufacturing for up to €900m. CRO records show Kingspan Nominees Limited — the group's holding entity — has been registered in Kingscourt, Co. Cavan since 1984. This is not a company that pivots lightly: four decades of building materials expertise is now being redirected toward data centre power infrastructure. The Advnsys unit's 45% H1 profit surge — with sales up 34% — tells you the market is already there. The BMC deal, conditional on regulatory clearance in Q4 2026, adds switchboard and power systems manufacturing to a group that previously focused on insulation and building envelopes. The question for Q4 2026 accounts: does the combined entity justify the €900m price tag?

Workday's Dublin Footprint: Two Unlimited Companies, One Big Question Business Post reported that Workday shares soared on Silver Lake takeover reports. CRO records show that Workday Management Unlimited Company was registered on 15 January 2026 and Workday Ireland Holding Unlimited Company on 28 January 2026 — both at The Kings Building, Church Street, Dublin 7, both classified as "Activities of holding companies." Unlimited companies in Ireland do not need to file public accounts — a structure that provides maximum financial privacy. The timing (January 2026, weeks before takeover reports) and the structure (unlimited, holding) suggest these entities were created specifically to facilitate a potential transaction. Meanwhile, a separate article this week revealed Workday is subletting a fifth of its new College Square office space — a sign that headcount plans may be under review ahead of any deal.

Ardagh's Creditor Takeover: A Leopardstown Address and a €9.4bn Debt Story Business Post reported that Ardagh's creditors-turned-owners are striking while the iron is hot. CRO records show Ardagh Glass Packaging Holdings SARL — the Luxembourg-registered entity that sits atop the Irish operations — is registered at Ardagh House, South County Business Park, Leopardstown, Dublin 18. The company was registered in Ireland as an external company in March 2021. The €9.4bn debt restructuring that converted creditors to owners is now bearing fruit: Ardagh Metal Packaging's 15% EBITDA growth in Q1 2026 has created the ideal exit window. The so what: creditors who took equity in a distressed company are now positioned to sell at peak earnings — a textbook distressed-to-value play.

Kingspan's BMC Deal: What the Business Post Reported, What the CRO Adds The Business Post article on the Kingspan-BMC deal reported that BMC Manufacturing Group is a Meath-based company that makes switchboards and power systems for hyperscalers. CRO searches for "BMC Manufacturing" returned no direct match under that exact name — consistent with a private company that may trade under a different registered name. What the CRO does confirm: Kingspan's group structure includes Kingspan Nominees Limited (Cavan, 1984), Kingspan Energy Limited (external company, Kingscourt), and Kingspan Water & Energy Limited (external company, Carrickmacross) — a group that has been building out its energy and infrastructure capabilities for years. The BMC acquisition is not a departure; it is the logical endpoint of a decade-long strategic shift. Watch for the regulatory clearance decision in Q4 2026.

The Radar: Three Signals Worth Watching

Irish Startups Exporting Their Ambitions A pattern is emerging over the past seven days: Irish-founded companies are finding it easier to scale abroad than at home. Manna Drone launched in Tulsa, Oklahoma after Ireland's planning framework stalled its domestic operations. H&MV Engineering opened a Dallas office as it targets €3bn in revenue. The structural explanation: Ireland's regulatory environment for emerging technologies (drones, data centres) is moving more slowly than the US and UK. Watch for further Irish tech companies announcing US-first expansion strategies in Q3 2026.

The AI IPO Race: Anthropic vs OpenAI, and What It Means for Dublin Both Anthropic and OpenAI are racing toward IPO, with Anthropic expected to list first. Anthropic's $47bn revenue run rate and OpenAI's $40bn+ (doubled year-on-year) represent the largest technology IPOs in a generation. Both companies have significant Irish operations — OpenAI has a Dublin office, Anthropic has European presence. The so what for Ireland: as these companies go public and face increased scrutiny of their tax structures, Ireland's role as a European base for AI companies will come under renewed regulatory attention. Watch for EU AI Act compliance announcements from both companies in H2 2026.

The AML Register Verification Signal: CRO Under the Microscope Simon Harris's new anti-money laundering strategy includes a specific commitment to verify information submitted on the Companies Registration Office register. This is a direct response to concerns about shell companies and nominee directors. The structural implication: the same CRO register that this newsletter uses to track BidCo registrations and holding company structures will face greater scrutiny. Companies using unlimited structures (like the new Workday entities) or nominee directors may face new disclosure requirements. Watch for draft legislation on CRO verification requirements in Q4 2026.

The Deep Dive

Two companies this week warrant deeper investigation: Irish Continental Group, whose management buyout is the most significant Irish corporate event of the summer, and Kingspan, whose €900m data centre acquisition marks a strategic inflection point for one of Ireland's most enduring industrial companies. Both have CRO footprints that tell a richer story than the headlines alone.

Irish Continental Group — A 34-Year Directorship and a €1.2bn Question

Irish Continental Group (trading as Irish Ferries) is Ireland's dominant ferry operator, running routes between Ireland, the UK, and France. The company is listed on Euronext Dublin and has been led by Eamonn Rothwell since the early 1990s. CRO records confirm Rothwell has been a director of Irish Ferries Limited (company number 9344) since 31 January 1992 — a 34-year tenure that is extraordinary by any standard. The group's CRO footprint includes ICG Shipping (W.B. Yeats) Limited, Irish Ferries International Limited, and Irish Ferries Finance Designated Activity Company — a tightly controlled corporate structure that Rothwell and his team know intimately.

Metric	Detail	Significance
Takeover offer price	€8.00 per share	ISS calls it "attractive premium" to unaffected price
Rothwell directorship start	31 January 1992	34 years — unmatched institutional knowledge
BidCo registration date	1 October 2025	9 months before ISS endorsement; pre-planned
BidCo address	B&I Ferryport, Alexandra Road, Dublin 1	Same address as Irish Ferries — no ambiguity
Opposing shareholders	Marathon, Janus Henderson, Oxy Capital, Equus, Pageant	Significant minority bloc; deal not certain
ICG group entities (CRO)	5 active companies	Tightly controlled; Rothwell director of all

Reading Between the Lines: The Information Asymmetry Problem Management-led buyouts create a fundamental information asymmetry: the people making the offer know more about the company's value than the shareholders being asked to accept it. Eamonn Rothwell has been running Irish Ferries for 34 years. He knows the vessel values, the route profitability, the contract terms, and the capital expenditure pipeline better than any external analyst. The fact that ISS endorsed the offer does not resolve this asymmetry — it simply means the premium looks reasonable relative to the unaffected share price. The question is whether the unaffected share price itself reflected full value. Opposing shareholders like Marathon Asset Management clearly believe it did not.

The question for the EGM vote: will the opposing shareholders — Marathon, Janus Henderson, Oxy Capital, Equus Global, and Nick Furlong's Pageant Investments — have enough votes to block the deal, or will ISS's endorsement tip the balance toward Rothwell's team?

Kingspan — From Kingscourt to the Cloud

Kingspan Nominees Limited — the holding entity for the Kingspan group — has been registered in Kingscourt, Co. Cavan since 21 February 1984. What began as an insulation and building materials manufacturer has, over four decades, become one of Ireland's most globally significant industrial companies. The €900m acquisition of BMC Manufacturing Group is the latest and largest step in a pivot toward data centre infrastructure that has been building for years.

Metric	2026 H1	Context
Advnsys (data unit) profit growth	+45%	Fastest-growing division in the group
Advnsys sales growth	+34%	Demand from hyperscalers accelerating
Kingspan share price gain (week)	+7.56% (Mon), +5.5% (week)	Market endorses the strategic direction
BMC acquisition price	Up to €900m (€850m + €50m deferred)	Deferred element contingent on profit targets
Regulatory clearance expected	Q4 2026	Deal not yet complete; execution risk remains
Kingspan CRO registration	Kingscourt, Cavan, 1984	42-year-old Irish company; not a recent arrival

Why It Matters: Ireland's Industrial Champions Are Pivoting to AI Infrastructure Kingspan's BMC acquisition is part of a broader pattern: Ireland's traditional industrial companies are repositioning themselves as suppliers to the AI infrastructure boom. Kingspan is not alone — H&MV Engineering (Tipperary, €1.4bn valuation) is also targeting data centre electrical infrastructure. The so what: Ireland's industrial base is quietly becoming a critical supplier to the global AI buildout. This is a structural shift, not a cyclical one. The question for Kingspan's 2026 full-year accounts: does the BMC integration proceed smoothly, and does the €50m deferred payment get triggered?

Key People This Period

Name	Role	Notable Activity	Connections
Eamonn Rothwell	CEO, Irish Continental Group	Leading €1.2bn management buyout; ISS backing secured; director since 1992	Irish Ferries, BidCo, ICG Shipping
Gene Murtagh	CEO, Kingspan	Announced €900m BMC Manufacturing acquisition; Advnsys data unit up 45%	Kingspan Nominees
PJ Flanagan	CEO, H&MV Engineering	Revealed €1.4bn valuation; targeting €3bn revenue; IPO possible; started as apprentice in 1999	H&MV Engineering profile
Bobby Healy	CEO, Manna Drone	Launched US operations in Tulsa, Oklahoma after Ireland planning uncertainty	Manna US launch
Kenny Jacobs	Executive Chairman, Manna; former CEO DAA	Joined Manna as executive chairman; called for €1m salary for DAA successor	DAA salary article
Dario Amodei	CEO, Anthropic	Anthropic IPO preparation; $47bn revenue run rate; investors valuing on 2028 projections	Anthropic IPO
Enda Gunnell	CEO, Pinergy	Announced 7.6% electricity price rise from September; citing Middle East conflict	Pinergy price rise

One to Watch: H&MV Engineering

H&MV Engineering

Cashel Enterprise Park, Spafield, Co. Tipperary | Electrical Engineering / Data Centre Infrastructure | Valuation: €1.4bn

Metric	Value
Current valuation	€1.4bn
Order book	€2bn+
Revenue target (5 years)	€3bn
New US office	Dallas, Texas
CEO background	Electrical apprentice, 1999; CEO via MBO, 2015
IPO status	Possible; not imminent

H&MV Engineering is a Tipperary-based electrical engineering firm that has become a critical supplier to data centre developers across Ireland and internationally. CEO PJ Flanagan joined as an apprentice in 1999, became a director in 2010, and led a management buyout in 2015. The company recently completed a €750m deal that allowed existing investors to exit and brought in new partners including MML Ireland and Exponent.

The number that matters: a €2bn+ order book against a €1.4bn valuation means H&MV is trading at less than 1x its forward revenue pipeline. For a company in a structurally growing sector (data centre electrical infrastructure), this suggests either significant execution risk or significant undervaluation. The Dallas office opening signals a US expansion strategy that, if successful, could justify a much higher valuation. Watch for a formal IPO announcement or further institutional investment in 2027.

The Broader Picture

The Companies Registration Office

The CRO register this week tells a story of strategic preparation: the most significant corporate events reported by Business Post were preceded by quiet filings months earlier. The BidCo for the ICG buyout was registered in October 2025; the two Workday unlimited holding companies were registered in January 2026. For readers who monitor the CRO, these were early signals. The AML strategy announced this week by Simon Harris will, if implemented, make such pre-announcement filings more visible and verifiable — a change that could alter how Irish companies structure transactions.

Entity	CRO Number	Registered	Significance
Dublin Ferryport Container Terminals Ltd	798342	Oct 2025	ICG buyout BidCo; same address as Irish Ferries
Workday Ireland Holding Unlimited Co	807195	Jan 2026	Holding company; unlimited (no public accounts)
Workday Management Unlimited Co	806150	Jan 2026	Second holding entity; same address as above
Ardagh Glass Packaging Holdings SARL	909545	Mar 2021	Luxembourg entity; Irish operations registered at Leopardstown
Kingspan Nominees Limited	99859	Feb 1984	42-year-old Cavan holding company; now pivoting to data centres

  CRO Watch: The AML Strategy and What It Means for Register Transparency
  Simon Harris's new anti-money laundering strategy commits to verifying information on the CRO register — a direct response to concerns about nominee directors and shell companies. The so what for business readers: the same unlimited company structures used by Workday, and the same BidCo registration patterns used by the ICG management team, may face new disclosure requirements. Watch for draft legislation in Q4 2026 that could require beneficial ownership verification for all new company registrations, including unlimited companies.

The Irish Courts

No judgments were delivered in the exact period 10–16 August 2026 that directly involve the companies featured in this week's Business Post coverage. Broader searches of the judgments index for Irish Continental Group, Kingspan, and Ardagh returned no active litigation for these entities in the current period. This is notable: all three are in the middle of significant corporate transactions, and the absence of court proceedings removes a potential complication from each deal. The courts will be relevant if any of the opposing ICG shareholders seek to challenge the buyout process.

Search	Result	Implication
ICG / Rothwell (judgments index)	No active proceedings found	Buyout process faces no known legal challenge
Kingspan (judgments index)	No active proceedings found	BMC acquisition not complicated by litigation
Ardagh (judgments index)	Historical references only	No current proceedings; clean exit path for creditors
Period search (Aug 10–16)	0 judgments delivered	Courts in summer recess; activity resumes September

Property Markets & Plans

The Dublin property market remained active in the weeks leading up to this period, with 944 transactions recorded in the July–August window. Commercial activity was modest: a retail unit at The Square Town Centre in Dublin sold for €200,000 — a fraction of the headline M&A values dominating this week's business news. The contrast is instructive: while Irish companies are transacting at billion-euro scale in corporate M&A, the commercial property market is operating at a much more subdued level. Residential prices in Dublin ranged from €305,000 to €700,000 in recent transactions, consistent with a market that remains tight but not accelerating.

Property	Type	Price	Date
Airside Green, Swords (Bidvest Noonan HQ)	Commercial lease	19,500 sq ft	Aug 2026
Unit 204/205, The Square Town Centre, Dublin	Commercial	€200,000	Jul 2026
30 Hampton Green, Navan Rd, Dublin 7	Residential	€590,125	Jul 2026
33 Abbey Park, Baldoyle, Dublin 13	Residential	€700,000	Jul 2026
Longwood, Co. Meath (35-home site)	Development land	€2m+ guide	Aug 2026

Property Signal: Bidvest Noonan's Swords Move Business Post reported that Bidvest Noonan has taken 19,500 sq ft at Airside Green in Swords as its new headquarters, ahead of its 50th anniversary. This is a facilities management company — not a tech firm — choosing a new A-rated office in a suburban Dublin location. The so what: the suburban office market is showing signs of life as companies outside the tech sector seek modern, cost-effective space away from the city centre premium.

The Week Ahead

The week of 10–16 August 2026 will be remembered as the week Irish corporate Ireland showed its hand. Three management-led or creditor-driven transactions — ICG, Ardagh, and Workday — moved from background preparation to public scrutiny simultaneously. The single most important takeaway: the CRO register is not just a compliance database; it is a forward-looking intelligence tool. The BidCo registrations, the unlimited company formations, the address clusters — all of these were visible months before the headlines. The question for the coming weeks is whether the ICG EGM vote delivers the outcome management expects, and whether Kingspan's BMC deal clears regulatory hurdles on schedule.

  The Bottom Line
  Ireland's corporate landscape in August 2026 is defined by a single structural reality: the country's most significant companies are either being taken private, restructured for sale, or pivoting to serve the AI infrastructure boom. The ICG buyout, the Kingspan acquisition, the Ardagh sale preparation, and the Workday takeover reports are not four separate stories — they are four expressions of the same underlying dynamic: capital is moving, and Ireland is where it is moving through.

What to Watch in the coming weeks:

The ICG EGM vote: will the opposing shareholders — Marathon, Janus Henderson, Oxy Capital, Equus, Pageant — block the €8 offer?
Kingspan's Q4 2026 regulatory clearance for the BMC Manufacturing acquisition: any delay will test investor patience.
Workday's Silver Lake deal: if confirmed, it would be the largest private equity take-private of an Irish-headquartered tech company in history.
The first draft legislation arising from Simon Harris's AML strategy: watch for CRO register verification requirements that could affect unlimited company structures.