Blacksheep Fund Management Ltd acquired the shares in Distilled Ltd, the company that runs Daft.ie, DoneDeal.ie and Adverts.ie.
Financial terms of the control transaction were not disclosed. In a report yesterday, Sky News had speculated that the purchase price was “more than €500m”. Reuters has previously said the business could be valued at as much as €600m.
The Distilled management team, which includes founder and CEO Eamonn Fallon, will continue to lead the company, according to an announcement.
Blacksheep is an investment fund that manages the assets of charitable institutions. It looks for high-quality businesses and management teams around the world with a view to providing them with the capital to fund growth and investment.
Alex Fortune, chief investment officer of Blacksheep, said: “We are truly delighted to be partnering with Distilled. As avid users of Daft, DoneDeal and Adverts, we know the tremendous value they create for their users and business customers. Blacksheep and its partners – all charitable institutions – invest in exceptional businesses for the long-term.
“We are committed to supporting Eamonn and his team as they continue to build, innovate and grow.”
Eamonn Fallon said the deal was a testament to the hard work and dedication of the Distilled workforce and the culture they had built. “We are excited to welcome Blacksheep onboard, who bring with them a wealth of experience investing in marketplace businesses across the globe. The combination of Blacksheep’s expertise in the classifieds sector, their long-term focus, and financial strength will allow us to accelerate investment in our products and service to the benefit of our users and customers for many years to come.”
Distilled was set up almost a decade ago when Eamonn Fallon and his brother, Brian, merged Adverts and Daft with DoneDeal, which was owned by Adevinta.
Daft was launched by the Fallons in 1997, with an initial focus on the rental sector. It now has 2.5 million users a month, and its regular reports on the housing market are highly respected, and widely reported on in the media.
Eamonn and Brian Fallon also own Journal Media, which produces the42.ie, a sports news website, as well as The Journal.
The most recent accounts for Distilled revealed a 28pc growth in pre-tax profits to €12.2m for last year. Turnover was up from €36.7m in 2022 to €41.38m in 2023. The company employed 148 people at year-end, and had paid out dividends worth almost €14m.
DoneDeal, the leading cars website, was set up 20 years ago by Fred and Geraldine Karlsson, who sold a majority stake to Adevinta in 2011. Four years later the European group bought it out.
Adevinta was sold earlier this year to a group of private-equity funds, led by Permira and Blackstone, for a reported €12.5m. The sale of its stake in Distilled is the first transaction since then.
Barclays acted as financial adviser to Distilled and its selling shareholders while Arthur Cox LLP & Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP were legal advisers. Transactional support was provided by KPMG Ireland and Deloitte UK.
Lazard acted as financial adviser to Blacksheep. A&L Goodbody and A&O Shearman acted as legal advisers, with transactional support from Grant Thornton Ireland, Loyens and Loeff Luxembourg Sarl and Seward & Kissel LLP.