Lime Rock Partners Announces Sale of Position in IPEC Ltd.
12/4/2001WESTPORT, Conn., December 4, 2001 – Lime Rock Partners, a private equity firm that provides growth capital for the energy industry, announced today that it has realized a substantial gain from the recently completed sale of its ownership position in IPEC Ltd., a Canadian oil services company primarily active in pipeline and oil field construction, and petroleum equipment and services. Lime Rock will retain an interest in the acquiring company, Flint Energy Services Ltd. (TSE: FES).
Funds managed by Lime Rock initially invested in IPEC in March 1999, with two follow-on investments for a total stock position of $17.7 million. The transaction will result in $34 million in cash proceeds to Lime Rock’s funds, which will retain a significant equity stake in the acquirer, Flint Energy Services Ltd. The transaction was part of the combination of IPEC and Flint Energy completed on November 22, 2001. Prior to the combination, Lime Rock’s funds had an ownership stake of 38% in IPEC.
The IPEC realization is an important milestone for Lime Rock as it demonstrates the strength and viability of our investment approach,” said Jonathan Farber, Managing Director of Lime Rock and former leading energy industry analyst at Goldman Sachs & Co. “Our research highlighted the prospective expansion that was to take place in the Canadian natural gas infrastructure market. When combined with an extremely well-managed acquisition strategy, the underpinnings of this growth have delivered exceptional value in a little over two years. We believe that Flint Energy Services has a very promising future as well and we are pleased to have a continuing ownership stake in the business.”
Since its initial investment, Lime Rock played a large role in recruiting two top-tier executives from the industry to join IPEC. Additionally, Lime Rock had a high level of involvement in the evaluation and financing of acquisitions to support the company’s buy-and-build strategy, which resulted in sales growing from C$54 million in 1999 to C$235 million in 2000.
“Lime Rock has been a great partner, offering support and follow-on capital when needed, which allowed us to capture a number of time-critical opportunistic acquisitions,” said Tim Swinton, Chairman of IPEC Ltd.
About Lime Rock Partners
Lime Rock Partners, based in Westport, Connecticut, is a private equity firm founded in 1998 that seeks to make privately negotiated investments in small, well-managed companies in high-growth segments of the energy industry. Since formation, Lime Rock has made investments in 12 separate portfolio companies. Other Lime Rock investments include: Roxar ASA, Deer Creek Energy, Venture Production Co., Torch Offshore, Inc. and SmartSynch, Inc. To learn more about Lime Rock, visit www.lrpartners.com.
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