Karl Brophy, the founder and chief executive of Dublin-headquartered strategic communications group Red Flag Global, has been chosen as The Irish Times Business Person of the Month for February, an award run in association with Bank of Ireland.
During the month, the company, chaired by Gavin O’Reilly, was acquired by New York-based Ankura Consulting Group, a global management consulting firm.
While the sum paid was not disclosed, industry sources put the value of the deal at about €45 million, which would equate to about 10 times its earnings before interest and tax last year. This sum is subject to a four-year earn out period, with about 40 per cent of the amount payable over that term.
Mr Brophy owns 75 per cent of the firm, indicating a payout for him of just more than €33 million, assuming all the metrics are met. His wife, Deirdre Grant, is managing director of its Irish operation. Both of them, along with other executives at the firm, remain with the business.
A former journalist, Mr Brophy was the communications chief with INM (now Mediahuis Ireland) when it was a listed company and led by Mr O’Reilly. Founded in 2013, Red Flag has 65 staff and offices in Dublin, Brussels, Cape Town, London, and Washington, DC.
Mr Brophy said he was “hugely excited” to join Ankura to “leverage” their mutual strengths to support clients. “In Ankura, we’ve found a hugely impressive firm that already has global reach and scale with more than 3,000 clients,” he said.
“It’s been very clear in every conversation we’ve had with them that they more than match our ambition and they trust us to help them build the most expert and highest performing team of consultants in the world. We are very excited.”
