Lime Rock Partners Announces Sale of Sensa Ltd. to Schlumberger
12/5/2001WESTPORT, Conn., December 5, 2001 – Lime Rock Partners, a private equity firm that provides growth capital for the energy industry, announced today that it has realized a significant gain from its investment in Sensor Highway Ltd. (Sensa), which was acquired by Schlumberger Oilfield Services.
Funds managed by Lime Rock initially invested in Sensa, a world leader in fiber optic based reservoir solutions for the oil and gas industry, in February 2000. Lime Rock made two follow-on investments for a total of $9.6 million. 3i, a leading international venture capital company, was a co-investor in Sensa.
“Our successful investment in Sensa demonstrates our focus on the most significant growth areas within the energy industry and our deep understanding of the most promising emerging technologies that are reshaping it,” said John Reynolds, Managing Director of Lime Rock and former leading energy industry analyst at Goldman Sachs & Co. “Our investment approach is to identify well-managed, high-growth energy companies like Sensa that require capital to fulfill their strategic growth plans. With the completion of this investment, Lime Rock has returned 90% of its first fund capital in less than three years.” With Lime Rock’s assistance, Sensa strengthened its competitive position in providing fiber optic downhole tools and completed two strategic acquisitions.
“Lime Rock was a valued business partner to the company,” said Glynn Williams, Chief Executive Officer of Sensa. “In addition to providing much needed growth capital, they were instrumental in helping us implement our strategy.”
Lime Rock’s gain on its Sensa investment follows its successful sale of the majority of its ownership position in IPEC Ltd., a Canadian based oilfield service concern. Funds managed by Lime Rock had invested a total of $17.7 million in IPEC for a 38% stake. In addition to the $34 million in cash proceeds received, Lime Rock retains a substantial stake in Flint Energy Services Ltd. (TSE: FES), the corporate entity that combined with IPEC. In August of this year, Lime Rock sold its half interest in a joint venture established to own and operate a harsh environment offshore drilling rig, the Noble Julie Robertson, to the operator of the joint venture, Noble Drilling Corporation (NYSE:NE) for $20 million.
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.
About Sensor Highway Ltd. (Sensa)
Based in Chandlers Ford, England, and with offices in the major oil producing areas of the world, Sensa is a world leader in the design, manufacture and deployment of a new generation of fiber optic sensors. Specialists in real-time data solutions to the oil and gas, process and power distribution industries, Sensa’s pioneering application of these fiber optic sensors has enabled producers to reduce operating costs and boost asset performance via the accurate and reliable data they deliver. Sensa’s core measurement is centered on fiber optic distributed temperature systems that provide a complete temperature profile along the entire length of a fiber optic cable in real time. This inherently reliable system is able to provide continuous monitoring for the lifetime of the asset. More information about Sensa is available at www.sensa.org.
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