Foster hails Intel's £80m deal to take over Aepona

Back in March Intel dismissed rumours that it had swooped for Aepona, which specialises in cloud-based telecom network solutions.

But today the household name was unveiled as the buyer in one of the largest technology deals ever seen in Ireland.

Co-founded by Dublin entrepreneur Gilbert Little, Aepona recently leased the second floor of the new £15m tower block The Soloist at Lanyon Place on Belfast's waterfront.

The company – which also has offices in Bristol, Wicklow, Denver, California and Sri Lanka – currently has an office at the Interpoint building in York Street employing around 70 people.

Aepona has raised tens of millions of dollars in financial backing over the past ten years from funders including Canada's Blackberry telecoms group and German software giant SAP, which also has an office in Belfast.

Dublin-based ACT Venture Capital, US-based Polaris Venture Partners, Sweden's Innovations Kapital and France's Innovacom have also invested in the firm while Invest NI is also a shareholder in the company.

Accounts for Dublin-based Aepona Holdings show that it generated revenue of $39.2m (£25.7m) in 2011, up 16% on the previous year.

It made a $1.2m (£790,000) operating profit, 70% less than the nearly $4m (£2.6m) it made a year earlier.

Enterprise Minister Arlene Foster has welcomed the announcement, calling it an "endorsement" of the skills of Northern Ireland's workforce and the strength of our technology sector.

"Since 1999, Aepona has worked to develop its business into the competitive and internationally respected firm that it is today," she said.

"It is no surprise therefore, that it has attracted the attention of one of the biggest and most well-known technology companies in the world.

"Intel will benefit from Aepona's wealth of skills, expertise and highly advanced technology and Northern Ireland will benefit from the presence of yet another global technology leader."