The Untold Surge: How American Buyouts Are Quietly Reshaping Wealth and Power Right Now
Every once in a while, you come across a story that’s not just about business—it’s about the shifting tides of power and ambition across continents. When David Moloney and his co-founders eyed buyers for their Dublin-based semiconductor firm Movidius, the choice was stark—American suitors waved stacks of cash multiples higher than European companies could dream of. It’s a trend that’s been gathering speed: US firms ambitiously scooping up promising European businesses, leaving us to wonder—are we witnessing a clever financial fiesta or the slow loss of local ambition and autonomy? What does it say about the ecosystem here when “good enough” growth is the norm and risk-taking feels like taboo? In this dance of dollars, risks, and cultural contrasts, who really wins—and at what cost? Dive into the full story and get the lowdown on how these cross-Atlantic acquisitions are reshaping the entrepreneurial landscape we thought we knew. LEARN MORE
As more and more European firms are being targeted for acquisition by American companies, Paul O’Donoghue looks at the effect of this trend on the business ecosystem on this side of the Atlantic
When David Moloney and his co-founders were shopping for a buyer for their business, there was only one show in town.
“The US firms could offer two, three, four times the money,” he tells BusinessPlus.ie.
“We talked to a couple of European companies, but the money on o‑ er was maybe a third of what was available in the US.
“When you have a VC [venture capitalist] looking for a return in two to three years — when someone o‑ ers that much more money, they’ll go for that.”
Movidius, a semiconductor firm which designed low-power processor computer chips, was the business Moloney co-founded alongside Sean Mitchell and John Bourke.
The Dublin-based company’s acquisition by US giant Intel in 2016 for a fi gure reportedly in the region of €300m was a massive win for the company’s investors.
Despite the rumoured price tag, Moloney says the deal didn’t quite make himself and his co-founders “lotto winners”.
The trio had all seen their shares diluted down in various funding rounds over the years, some of which were needed just to keep the lights on during the fi nancial crisis.
But still, the sale represented a significant payday for the founders, marking the end of a journey for Moloney which had lasted well over a decade since he went back to college to study for a PhD.
So, a good result all round.
Except that is, for ‘Ireland Inc’. The Movidius acquisition was among the first in a wave of major US companies buying out promising or fast-growing midsize European rivals.
It has seen many promising Irish firms bought out.
And it’s a trend which has only accelerated since Moloney and co signed on the dotted line.
Law firm White & Case reported an enormous Covid boom, saying the deal value for European assets sold to US firms came in at $463bn in 2021.
This was up a staggering 82 per cent in a single year compared to the $254bn posted in 2020.
A report earlier this year from HSBC Global Research and think tank New Financial found just over 1,000 European-listed companies (1,013) were bought by private US businesses over the past decade.
The research estimates this has “stripped” an enormous $1 trillion in value from European exchanges.
And that’s only talking about publicly listed companies — the likes of the Movidius deal would not even be counted in that figure.
The exact estimates of how much American firms are splashing out tend to vary depending on the source.
But the direction of travel is clear: US firms are snapping up European and UK ones.
There are plenty of recent examples.
Think Lyft spending $197m in April to buy Germany-based taxi app FreeNow. Or DoorDash in May snapping up UK-based food delivery firm Deliveroo for a staggering $3.9bn.
It’s the same in emerging sectors. This summer, Robinhood completed its $200m acquisition of Luxembourg-based Bitstamp. So, what’s behind it all?
Among other factors, Moloney identifies the biggest one: “Ultimately, US companies have deeper pockets.”
While this is certainly the key reason in many deals, Brian Keegan, the founder and chief executive of business coaching firm Scaling Up, says culture also plays a role.
“[US companies] are less risk-averse. Imagine a French firm versus a US business looking to buy a hot Irish company,” he says.
Keegan says while the European firm would likely cautiously weigh up the business, a US firm would “already have an offer on the table” once it made a decision to proceed.
Moloney also thinks a risk-taking attitude is a factor.
“In Europe, many firms are happy with nice incremental growth. No one is making a play for world domination. There’s maybe a lack of ambition. Maybe the general environment here sends that message [of] ‘don’t get too big for your boots’.”
On a personal level for Moloney, this begs the question: why didn’t you try to grow Movidius into a global behemoth?
“As a founder, you have to think: ‘If I spend another five years at this, will I double my money? The reality is, you probably won’t. And it can be better to get acquired by someone else rather than try to IPO.”
Neil McDonnell, the chief executive of small firms group ISME, also identifies IPOs (initial public offerings) as being a problem spot for mid-size Irish firms.
“The reality is, it’s just not attractive to go public here,” he says.
US businesses feasting on European ones creates a spiral effect — the more large public European businesses are acquired by US ones, the more European markets shrink.
This makes it harder for European companies to realise their full value on local markets.
Ireland has felt the impact of this, with the likes of building materials firm CRH and gambling company Flutter moving their listings from Dublin to the US.
McDonnell identifies another issue for promising Irish businesses such as Movidius: what to do when they reach that tricky mid-size.
“Really, the only sources of finance open to most of these guys, in Ireland anyway, is personal equity or bootstrapping,” McDonnell says.
“For guys who take on any form of equity, their time horizon becomes shorter. There’s the expectation of a payout in five to seven years.”
So if Ireland wants to save more of its promising businesses from getting snapped up by US firms, what should it do?
McDonnell and ISME advocate incentivising private investment in businesses.
He points to the likes of the UK’s Enterprise Investment Scheme, which offers tax reliefs to individual investors who buy new shares in a growing company.
“We have billions on deposit in this country,” he says, arguing the government should look to channel that idle cash into promising firms.
“This is where Paschal Donohoe [the finance minister] needs market advice within the Department of Finance.”
McDonnell adds that the state needs a strategic shift to prioritising domestic businesses.
“We have to prioritise a balance between FDI [foreign direct investment] and domestic,” he says.
“At the moment, our priority is to buy in FDI from the IDA. Where our focus should be [is] on growing domestic businesses.”
As for Moloney, he now works as the chief scientist for Dublin-based Ubotica Technologies, which makes AI solutions for satellites.
He has been at the firm since early 2021, shortly after he left Intel. He now follows a similar line of thinking to McDonnell and would like to see more of a risk-taking attitude to backing European businesses.
“In the US, they would trumpet their successes and take failure as a proxy for success,” he says.
“But in Europe, you tend to get hit with your failures. That doesn’t help entrepreneurs who don’t get it right the first time. In the US, they have a more permissive attitude.”
So, looking back, is Moloney happy with the decision to sell Movidius?
“I never set out with the idea of creating a colossus like Intel,” he says.
“We had a vision for what we wanted to do with our product, and we succeeded. Movidius IP is now used in over 200 million devices per year; you would be hard-pressed to find anyone else who’s done that.”
He highlights how Movidius secured jobs for workers while producing a good return for its co-founders, for its investors and for the Irish state.
And he then returns to his earlier point — if Movidius didn’t take the Intel offer, none of that would have been guaranteed.
After pouring so many years into the firm, the decision to go for the US buyer just made sense.
“You can always make more money, but you can’t make more time,” Moloney says.
Photo: Movidius founders David Moloney and Sean Mitchell
Amazon Basics Dog Poop Bags with Dispenser, 300 Count, Enhanced for Guaranteed Leakproof, Unscented, Includes Leash Clip
$8.89 (as of October 25, 2025 03:31 GMT +00:00 - More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)
Roku Streaming Stick HD 2025 — HD Streaming Device for TV with Roku Voice Remote, Free & Live TV
$19.99 (as of October 25, 2025 03:06 GMT +00:00 - More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)
INSIGNIA 32" Class F20 Series LED HD Smart Fire TV with Alexa Voice Remote (NS-32F202NA26)
$69.99 (as of October 25, 2025 03:05 GMT +00:00 - More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)
LovinPet Pitbull Large Dog Clothes, Wound Care/Post Surgery Dog Clothes, Lost World Dinosaurs Print, UV Protection, Pet Anxiety Relief, Large Dog Onesies, Pet PJ's /2XL
$29.99 (as of October 22, 2025 03:26 GMT +00:00 - More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)
Post Comment