Donegal engineering firm to be sold for £1.4bn

The business was founded by Derry City chairman Philip O'Doherty

The Donegal-based firm E&I Engineering is being sold in a deal worth up to $2bn (£1.45bn).

The business, which was founded by Derry City Football Club chairman Philip O'Doherty, is a significant employer in the north-west.

It is being bought by Ohio-based Vertiv Holdings.

E&I makes electrical switchgear and power distribution systems which is installed in facilities like data centres.

Vertiv said it was buying the business to "meaningfully complete" its data centres services business.

It will make an upfront payment of $1.8bn (£1.3bn) in cash and shares with the potential for up to $200m (£145m) in additional cash, based on achieving 2022 profit milestones.

Philip O'Doherty says the sale is "a great outcome for E&I's employees and customers"

E&I has annual sales of around $460m (£333m) and 2,100 employees.

It is an attractive business because of its long-standing relationships with a blue-chip customer base in more than 30 countries, particularly in the growing data centre sector.

'Unique opportunity'

Vertiv's Executive Chairman Dave Cote said the deal represented "a unique opportunity".

"I am excited about the potential of these two great businesses coming together as one," he added.

Mr O'Doherty said it was "a great outcome for E&I's employees and customers".

"We are excited to join the Vertiv team and continue to grow our business," he added.

In a 2012 interview, he told Financial Times he did not like the politics involved in working for a big company so he left his job at manufacturer DuPont to set up on his own.