BELFAST digital solutions company Neueda has been bought by Irish services group Version 1, creating one of the north’s largest tech firms.
The deal, for an undisclosed sum, brings together two of the city’s fastest growing digital businesses.
Version 1, which employs around 1,600 people worldwide, earlier this month announced plans to more than double its team at Belfast’s Gasworks from 160 to 340 over the next three years.
Neueda is also on a rapid trajectory. Last August the software company announced a £20 million investment to double its workforce to 450 people.
Version 1 said the combined businesses will have almost 2,000 employees and more than 500 customers.
Version 1's customers include pharma giant Almac, Firmus Energy, Invest NI and the Henderson Group, while Neueda works with JP Morgan, Citi, Liberty IT, Credit Suisse and Microsoft.
The acquisition is the 12th to date for Version 1. The Irish-based group said it will help it meet ambitious growth plans, particularly in capital markets where Neueda specialises, and create one of the largest expert technology businesses in Northern Ireland.
Neueda’s executive management team, including chief executive Paddy O’Hagan, have joined Version 1 as a result of deal. The company said they will focus on growing Version 1’s digital and cloud practice in the north.
Version 1’s chief executive, Tom O’Connor, said the company values it shares with Neueda made it a good match.
“This deal brings to Version 1 a highly-skilled and specialised technology team with deep expertise in digital transformation, data analytics, trading, cloud services and other key technical consultancy areas which will enable Version 1 to further accelerate our customers’ businesses with IT and enable the public sector to reach citizens more effectively with key services,” he said.
Neueda’s Paddy O’Hagan said: “The acquisition is excellent news for our customers, with Version 1 and Neueda combining our technical capability across our mutual customers in Northern Ireland to continue to deliver excellent customer experiences, while tapping into the breadth of Version 1 resources and services to solve a wider variety of IT challenges and transformations.”
