Jones Engineering to be sold for 'hundreds of millions' as Kinsella chooses Texas firm   

The Irish firm will be bought by Cathexis, which was recently reported to have invested in the Irish mechanical and electrical engineering contractor Leo Lynch

Eric and Barbara Kinsella: Mr Kinsella is chairman of Jones Engineering and the company's largest shareholder.

Jones Engineering will be bought by Texas-based investment firm Cathexis for hundreds of millions of euro it is understood.

Jones Engineering — which is a mechanical, electrical and fire protection contractor and also builds data centres — employs nearly 5,000 people and is looking to hire more staff after the acquisition is completed.

“We selected Cathexis as the new owner for the group given our shared vision of growing our operations to take advantage of huge opportunities in Ireland and globally for the services we offer,” said Jones Engineering chairman Eric Kinsella.

New recruits

Already this month, Jones Engineering posted jobs looking to recruit people in Cork, Limerick, Dublin, Dundalk, Kildare, and other areas in Munster, Leinster, Europe, and the UK.

Mr Kinsella is the largest shareholder of Jones Engineering, while chief executive Jim Curley holds the second-largest share, making them the main beneficiaries of this lucrative deal. Both are expected to leave the company once the acquisition is completed, it has been reported.

Jim Curley, Jones Engineering chief executive: Along with Mr Kinsella, he will be the main beneficiary of the multimillion-euro deal with Cathexis.

In December 2021, Jones Engineering posted in excess of €900m in turnover, while its profit for 2020 was €51m.

The company was founded in 1890 and is based mainly in Dublin. It works in the life sciences, data centres, industrial, food and beverage, offices, and renewable energy sectors.

Other investments

This isn’t the first time Cathexis has taken an interest in Ireland. It was recently reported that the company invested in the Irish mechanical and electrical engineering contractor L Lynch & Co Ltd, known more commonly as Leo Lynch.

“Supported by our deep financial resources and experience of scaling companies, we believe that further investment in both Jones Engineering and Leo Lynch will allow for growth both domestically and internationally,” said Cathexis.

The investment in Leo Lynch, which is a technical, mechanical, and electrical engineering contractor, made Cathexis the majority shareholder of the firm.

“We were impressed by the commitment of Cathexis and believe they are best placed to lead the company into the future for the benefit of both our employees and our clients,” said Mr Curley.

Jones Engineering has operations throughout Ireland, the UK, Europe, the Middle East, and South Africa ,and works with a blue-chip client base across 19 countries.