By Ciara O’Brien, Irish Times Business & Technology Journalist

Cubic Telecoms chief executive Barry Napier, left, and chief operating officer Shane Sorohan at its headquarters in Sandyford in Dublin. SoftBank has acquired a 51% stake in the Irish business for €473m. Photograph: Julien Behal

Japanese giant SoftBank has paid €473 million for a controlling stake in Irish technology company Cubic Telecom, in a deal that will net the company’s founders and its private backers a multimillion-euro payout.

The agreement values Cubic at more than €900 million, with SoftBank taking a 51 per cent stake in the company. Existing shareholders, including founder Barry Napier, US company Qualcomm, the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund, Act Venture Capital and Volkswagen-owned Cariad, have all sold a portion of their stakes, but will remain as shareholders in the business.

Three UCD Smurfit School alumni are on the leadership team at Cubic Telecom including Chief Financial Officer David McManamon, Chief People Officer Susan Rafferty and Chief Operating Officer Shane Sorohan.

This article was originally published on the Irish Times on December 5, 2023. Read the full article here.