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Legrand buys TES Group in AI-driven deal
Northern Ireland's TES Group, a specialist in power systems for data centres, has been acquired by French industrial leader Legrand in a transaction valued above £100 million. The sale marks the latest lucrative exit for Irish firms capitalising on surging demand for AI infrastructure.
Private equity firm reaps fourfold return
Foresight, the private equity investor that backed TES two years ago, confirmed it achieved a fourfold return on its initial stake. While the exact sale price remains undisclosed, industry sources suggest the figure exceeds £100 million.
Data centres fuel demand for power expertise
TES designs and manufactures critical power infrastructure for data centres-warehouse-sized facilities packed with servers that underpin AI operations. These sites require massive, uninterrupted electricity supplies to run servers and cooling systems, driving rapid growth for specialist providers.
Global tech giants like Microsoft and Google have poured billions into expanding data centre capacity, intensifying competition for cutting-edge AI services. Morgan Stanley projects up to $3 trillion (£2.2 trillion) will be spent on data centres between 2025 and 2029.
TES expands operations amid AI boom
Under CEO Brian Taylor, TES has scaled rapidly, opening a new manufacturing plant in Ballykelly. The company will continue operating from its Cookstown and Ballykelly sites under Legrand's ownership.
"We've scaled our operations at an incredible pace in recent years," Taylor said.
Ireland's data centre sector sees flurry of deals
TES's sale follows another high-profile transaction this week: French firm Bureau Veritas agreed to pay €375 million (£327 million) for Sligo-based LotusWorks, which specialises in data centre testing and maintenance. The deal delivers a windfall for LotusWorks' management team, which has controlled the business since 2018.
However, these deals pale beside earlier blockbusters. In 2025, Cork's Dornan Group sold to US firm Turner for €400 million (£349 million), while in 2024, Blackstone acquired a majority stake in Dublin's Winthorp Technologies.
Philip O'Doherty's £2.5bn windfall sets record
The most lucrative Irish data centre deal to date remains Philip O'Doherty's 2021 sale of E&I Engineering to US firm Vertiv Holdings. The transaction, valued at £1.45 billion in cash and shares, saw O'Doherty receive 80% of the proceeds, with the remainder split among minority shareholders.
The real bonanza came from Vertiv's soaring share price. When the deal closed, shares traded at around $25; today, they hover near $250. O'Doherty has since sold portions of his stake, most recently pocketing £298 million in March. His total proceeds from share sales now stand at approximately £950 million, with remaining shares valued just under £1 billion. Combined with the £700 million cash payout, the deal's total value exceeds £2.5 billion, cementing O'Doherty's status as Ireland's most successful industrialist of his generation.
