Northern Ireland firm Displaynote has been acquired by Volaris Group

Volaris Group, a global leader in software solutions, has acquired Belfast’s DisplayNote Technologies Limited.

A Kernel Capital portfolio company, DisplayNote specialises in wireless casting and video transmission technology, transforming the way parties interact and collaborate within business and educational environments while creating connected experiences in meeting rooms and learning spaces worldwide.

Kernel Capital were an early investor in DisplayNote by way of The Bank of Ireland Kernel Capital Growth Fund (NI) and this sale will see a strong all-cash multiple return to the Fund’s investors.

The Fund is part of Invest Northern Ireland’s Access to Finance suite of funds and was designed to help SMEs in Northern Ireland accelerate their growth. Invest Northern Ireland has committed £15 million of funding to this Fund which is part financed by the European Regional Development Fund under the EU Investment for Growth and Jobs Programme 2014-2020.

Ger Goold, partner, Kernel Capital and formerly director, DisplayNote, said: “This is a great outcome for the DisplayNote shareholders, while for all stakeholders across the ecosystem it provides for the next phase of growth in the company’s story. Key to the success to-date has been the vision and hard-work of Paul and his leadership team with the support of the Board.”

Paul Brown, CEO of DisplayNote, explained: “Kernel Capital’s support since their initial investment through the Bank of Ireland Kernel Capital Growth Fund has been a key building-block in DisplayNote’s growth as we expanded our global OEM and enterprise customer base. With Volaris, DisplayNote has found a home that shares our vision and helps us continue to support and expand our customer and partner ecosystem, whilst still innovating and growing the DisplayNote team.”

William McCulla, Invest NI’s director of corporate finance, continued: “This is a great result for the Bank of Ireland Kernel Capital Growth Fund, which we created as part of Invest NI’s Access to Finance portfolio to provide support to local SMEs like DisplayNote to help them to scale. The company is now well positioned for a new phase of growth and we look forward to seeing it continue to grow in global markets with new partners on board.”

Niall Devlin, head of business banking, Bank of Ireland UK, said: “DisplayNote are a great example of a local company achieving global success and we are delighted they have benefited from the Bank of Ireland Kernel Capital Growth Fund which was designed to help indigenous companies accelerate their growth.”

Rob Turner, Group Leader at Volaris Group, added: "Our decision to acquire DisplayNote was driven by their customer-first approach and culture of innovation, underpinned by industry-leading technology. Their vision of strong long-term customer relationships and industry leading innovation aligns with ours, helping position both Volaris and DisplayNote for continued growth."