Irish Engineering Powerhouses Ride the AI Surge

Legrand’s Acquisition of TES Group

Legrand, one of France’s largest industrial businesses, has completed the purchase of TES Group.

The financial details of the transaction have not been disclosed publicly, but industry observers suggest that the consideration exceeded £100m.

Foresight, a private‑equity firm that backed TES Group two years prior, announced a fourfold return on its original investment.

The strategic rationale behind the deal centers on TES Group’s expertise in designing and manufacturing power systems for data‑centres.

Data‑centres function as large warehouses filled with computer servers that form the backbone of AI‑driven services.

These facilities demand an uninterrupted and massive power supply, not only to keep the servers operational but also to energise the sophisticated cooling systems that maintain optimal temperatures.

Major technology giants such as Microsoft and Google have allocated billions of pounds to construct and expand such facilities as they vie for leadership in delivering rapid and powerful AI capabilities.

Morgan Stanley estimated that total spending on data‑centre infrastructure to support AI could reach as much as $3tn (£2.2tn) over a multi‑year horizon.

This projected spending wave has accelerated growth for specialist firms like TES Group, whose core business supplies the critical power infrastructure required by data‑centre developers.

Brian Taylor, chief executive of TES Group, highlighted that the company has scaled its operations at an incredible pace in recent years.

One tangible outcome of that expansion is the opening of a new manufacturing facility in Ballykelly.

Following the completion of the transaction, TES Group will continue to operate from its two sites in Cookstown and Ballykelly.

Parallel Moves in the Irish Data‑Centre Landscape

On a separate front, a different French firm reached an aGreement to acquire a Republic of Ireland‑based company with complementary data‑centre expertise.

Bureau Veritas announced a purchase price of €375m (£327m) for LotusWorks, a Sligo‑based business.

LotusWorks specialises in the final testing, optimisation, and ongoing maintenance of data‑centres before they become operational.

The acquisition will generate a substantial payday for the LotusWorks management team, which has overseen the business since 2018.

These deals, while sizable, are not the largest data‑centre‑related fortunes recorded in Ireland in recent years.

In a separate transaction, Cork‑based Dornan Group was sold to U.S. construction services firm Turner for a reported €400m (£349m).

In another notable investment, global private‑equity firm Blackstone purchased a majority stake in Dublin‑based Winthorp Technologies.

Both of those transactions delivered tens of millions of euros to the founders and senior managers of the respective Irish firms.

However, the most lucrative outcome to date involves Philip O'Doherty.

Philip O'Doherty sold his Donegal‑based firm E&I Engineering to U.S. company Vertiv Holdings.

The reported value of that transaction stood at £1.45bn in cash and shares, with approximately 80% of the total allocated to Philip O'Doherty and the remaining portion distributed among smaller shareholders.

The most financially significant aspect of the deal has been the Vertiv shares that Philip O'Doherty received.

The transaction occurred before the AI boom fully materialised, at which time each Vertiv share was valued at roughly $25.

Current market conditions have lifted Vertiv’s share price to around $250.

Since the beginning of the observed period, Philip O'Doherty has been gradually disposing of his Vertiv holdings.

The most recent sale generated about £298m, bringing cumulative proceeds from share sales to roughly £950m.

Philip O'Doherty continues to retain Vertiv shares valued at just under £1bn.

In addition to the share component, the cash portion of the original transaction amounted to roughly £700m.

Combined, the total value of Philip O'Doherty’s deal now stands at approximately £2.5bn, establishing him as the most successful Irish industrialist of his generation.