Private equity Exponent has deal making down to a fine art

Exponent, a British private equity firm, has brought its spending on the island of Ireland to more than €1 billion with an investment in Kingsbridge Healthcare Group, Northern Ireland’s largest private hospital group. It is reported to be spending £300 million (€357 million) to acquire a large majority stake.

It’s a third deal this year, following the €300 million purchase of Michael Burke’s Chanelle Pharma, a Galway-based veterinary and medical drugmaker, and the acquisition of the data centre designer Ethos Engineering, based in Dublin. Exponent’s first investment here, about 12 years ago, was Fintrax, Gerry Barry’s provider of VAT returns and dynamic currency conversion services, based in Galway. Exponent’s target is to at least double the size of the businesses it acquires. Kingsbridge Healthcare