Kneat Solutions, a Limerick-headquartered software company, has confirmed plans to cut up to 36 roles at the company just weeks after being bought by a US private equity group.
The company, formerly listed in Toronto, was acquired in a €404 million deal in recent weeks.
The multinational, which has 360 staff globally and more than 260 employees in Ireland, has begun a restructuring process in recent days that is expected to impact Irish roles.
Kneat chief executive Eddie Ryan confirmed to The Irish Times that, following a review of the company’s business needs, it has proposed changes that “may impact 10 per cent or less of the roles within its workforce”.
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“The company is currently engaged in a consultative process with those potentially impacted, recognises their contributions and is committed to treating all affected employees with care, dignity, and respect,” Ryan said.
Kneat Solutions specialises in the provision of software for the life sciences, healthcare and other heavily regulated industries.
It was founded in 2007 by Ryan, Kevin Fitzgerald and Brian Ahearne. While its operational headquarters have remained in Limerick, it officially became a Canadian company in 2015 after a reverse takeover that led to a listing on the Toronto exchange.
Leading life sciences companies globally, including Biogen, Pfizer and Sanofi, are listed as users of Kneat Solutions’ systems.
The sale of the company in June came weeks after Kneat said it was considering a sale of the business under a so-called strategic review.
The agreed purchase price represented a premium of approximately 40 per cent to the closing price of the shares in May, the last trading day before Kneat announcing an ongoing strategic review, and a premium of approximately 20 per cent to last Friday’s closing price.
Following the deal, Ryan said he welcomed the deal to partner with Thoma Bravo, which would help “accelerate our mission and our position as the leader in digital validation and quality process automation for life sciences at an exciting time for the industry”.
“We are energised by the path we are announcing today which delivers value to all our stakeholders.”
Under the terms of the arrangement, it was agreed the management team would remain in place following the closing of the deal.
Last month, Kneat reported that revenues rose 22 per cent to 18 million Canadian dollars (€11.1 million) in the first quarter of the year, while annual recurring revenue was running at C$76.4 million as of March, marking a 20 per cent increase on the year.
