jim beam rewards john teeling's vision quick turn at branded ...

JIM BEAM REWARDS
JOHN TEELING’S VISION
John Teeling (66) pulled off the biggest success of his illustrious
business career in early 2012, when whiskey maker Cooley
Distillery was bought by US drinks firm Beam for €73m. Beam,
best known for its bourbon, paid €6.34 per share for Cooley, which
resulted in Teeling and members of his family grossing over €20m.
John Teeling grossed €11.3m, while Jack Teeling grossed €3.5m,
Stephen Teeling €2.6m, Emma Teeling €2.1m, and Deirdre
Teeling €1.9m.
Plenty of others shared in the bounty too, with the Louth-based
firm having 390 shareholders. Other patient investors who banked
large sums included Carton House co-owner Lee Mallaghan (who
earned €6m), Mary Mallaghan (€1.2m), Martin O’Neill, Olive
McCluggage and Michael McAllister (€3m each), Tom
Cunningham (€2m), Maurice Cassidy (€1.7m), Patrick O’Neill
(€1.2m) and Sean and Carmel Lynch (€807,000).
QUICK TURN AT BRANDED
PAYMENT SOLUTIONS
James Murphy (52) and Rory Meehan (48) were the main
beneficiaries of the sale of Branded Payment Solutions in May 2012
to Planet Payment, which has its HQ in New York. Planet Payment
paid €1.4m in cash plus 488,000 of its shares as consideration. The
shares were worth €1.7m at the time of the deal, though they’ve
since been marked down by 35% on the Alternative Investment
Market in London, where Planet Payment is listed. The BPS
vendors can’t sell their Planet Payment shares until after April 2013.
BPS was established in 2008 to create a back-end transaction
Serial entrepreneur John Teeling established Cooley
Distillery in 1988 to get into the Irish whiskey business.
Twenty-four years later, his vision was rewarded
processing and management platform, based on software acquired
for €420,000 from Payzone, where Meehan had been working. In
2009, BPS received an investment of €1.5m from Delta Partners in
return for a 31% stake. At the time of the sale to Planet Payment,
Meehan owned 28% of the BPS, while Murphy owned 41%. BPS
made a net profit of €400,000 in 2011 and the firm now trades as
Planet Labs in Dublin.
INFLIGHT AUDIO OWNERS CAN
ALWAYS FLY FIRST CLASS
Damian Fannin (60) and Jerry Hughes (70) had a nice checkout at
Inflight Audio when the firm was the subject of a management
buyout led by general manager John White (41). The November
2012 MBO was backed by private equity firm, Kish Capital, and the
deal is reported to have resulted in a €6m payday for Inflight Audio
shareholders.
Fannin and Hughes each owned around 38% of the business,
with the remainder owned by Megan Fanning (10%), Paul Hughes
(10%) and John White (4%). Fannin and Hughes founded Inflight
in 1984 and the firm has grown to become a big player in its space,
providing films and music for airlines to show on their flights.
Former chief executive Fannin is being retained by Inflight in a
consultancy capacity, while Hughes is believed to have left the business.
Inflight Audio booked a net profit of €470,000 in the year to
April 2011, when net assets were €4.6m, including €4.4m in cash.
continued on page 26
24 Business Plus January 2013

January
Issue
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12 Economy
The Irish economy is back where it was eight
years ago but there is still a lot of spending to be
fought over
COVER STORIES
20 Trade Sales
The ultimate reward in business is finding a
buyer for the venture. Trade sales in 2012
minted scores of new millionaires,
including youngsters Cully & Sully
Business Beat 4
Laya Healthcare 42
Mary McKenna 38
38 Tour America
Mary McKenna has ambitious plans to double the
size of her already substantial travel business
42 Media & Marketing
Quinn Healthcare is now called Laya. Marketing
manager Lorraine Walsh explains the thinking
behind the rebranding
54 Startups
The background on seven new ventures, including
an office supplier that has branched into beauty
products
59 Parcel Delivery
The parcels market is hurting in business-tobusiness
consignments but there is strong growth
on the consumer side
72 Media 360
Report on the Media360 conference that explored
the advertising attractions of various types of
media
76 Smart Devices
A round-up of the best smartphones, tablets and
gadgets released over the past year
102 Hangovers
There are no cures for a hangover but there are
tips for avoiding them and for easing the
symptoms
80 Top Cars
Executives from leading car distributors
pick their top new cars for 2013 and what
models have done well for them over the
past year
16 Budget 2013
Michael Noonan’s second budget clobbered
just about everybody, and that’s bad news
for any business that depends on consumer
spending
Smart Devices 76
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48 Business Tips
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