Compagnie des Machines Bull SA’s UK & Ireland division has taken a 51% stake in Cara Group Ltd, a software and services company based in Dublin, Ireland. Bull chief executive in UK & Ireland Richard Snook was not disclosing how much was paid, but it was all cash. The majority of the stake was purchased from a venture capital firm, leaving employess and directors of Cara with 49%. There is a two- to four-year earn-out on the deal. Cara will operate under its name and retain its 250 employees; Bull currently employs 33 in Ireland. In the year to March 1995 Cara’s turnover was $44.7m and sees more than $48m this time. Cara was born in a management buyout from Aer Lingus two years ago and claims to have 80% of the payroll business in Ireland.
