BMD’s accounts indicate 75% stake bought by Meptagon could have been worth €7m

Israeli company Meptagon has bought a majority stake in Irish engineering contractor BMD & Company which could have been worth about €7 million on the basis of figures in the Irish firm’s accounts.

Little Island, Co Cork-based mechanical engineering contractor, BMD, designs and builds facilities for the pharmaceutical, oil and gas and energy industries, among others.

BMD’s accounts show that Meptagon bought 32,813 shares in BMD, 75 per cent of the company, in March in a deal that neither party announced at the time.

While the pair did not reveal the sale price, figures in BMD’s accounts indicate that the stake bought by Meptagon could have been worth slightly more than €6.9 million.

In 2018, BMD bought back and cancelled 6,250 shares owned by former shareholder, Nicholas Lynch, for €1.16 million.

Transaction

This transaction implied that the company was worth more than €212 a share after Mr Lynch left and redeemed his stake. That would have put a €6.9 million price tag on Meptagon’s stake.

BMD managing director Mike Walsh explained that a confidentiality agreement with Meptagon prevented him from commenting on the sale price.

He also pointed out that Mr Lynch retired from the company some time before the sale to the Israeli player and stressed that the two transactions were entirely unrelated.

Mr Walsh predicted that Meptagon’s investment would open new opportunities for BMD. The company intends opening a Dublin office in coming weeks, which it will use to bid for work from businesses such as pharmaceutical and semi-conductor manufacturers.

Semi-conductor giant Intel plans a €3.5 billion expansion at its Irish factory in Leixlip, Co Kildare. BMD has not worked in this industry but Meptagon has experience in the sector