History (1989): Management Buy-Out of Memorex Telex Facility

A new company, Atlantic Magnetics, has been formed to acquire the Memorex Telex diskette plant at Clondalkin (Dublin, Ireland).

As a result of the buy-out, the management team, comprising Martin Maguire, chief executive, Sean Walsh, deputy chief executive, Bill Jordan, technical director, and John Lockwood, marketing director, will hold 55% of the equity of the new company.

The National Development Corporation Ltd. (NADCORP) will hold 25% and Memorex, and the company’s former parent, will retain 20%.

The £4.5 million was finalized on April 4.

The MBO has been assisted by Standard Chartered Bank and Price Warehouse – Corporate Finance.

Atlantic Magnetics will continue to manufacture flexible disk products for domestic and international customers including OEMs and software duplicators.

The company is expected to employ 200 people by 1990.

Maguire said: “After 10 years of manufacturing, the plant was extensively modernised 3 years ago with £10 million investment program. This included a 35,000 square feet cleaning room and new production equipment. Japanese style practices at the plant, such as ‘just in time’ and ‘statistical process control’, have led to streamlining and have freed up around 15,000 square feet of cleaning room. “

“A further £3 million expansion is envisaged to install new equipment for higher technology magnetic media and software support services. A priority development is the construction of a linked warehouse facility adjacent to the existing plant. Discussions are taking place with other, high-tech companies for diversified manufacturing,” he concluded.

John Palleschi, director of corporate development, Memorex Telex, said: “We are pleased to retain a 20% equity holding in Atlantic Magnetics and will support the deal with an agreement to buy finished products for our European computer supplies division.“

The management has a longstanding relationship for the supply of high-technology coated media from Teijin in Japan and the new company will have an international sales office based in UK. The Atlantic Magnetics plant is located at the IDA’s Cloverhill Industrial Estate in Clondalkin, adjacent to a number of other high technology manufacturing firms.

This article is an abstract of news published on the former paper version of Computer Data Storage Newsletter on issue ≠15, published on April 1989.