Epi-V makes investment in Brinker Technology
Just a month after launching, specialist oil and gas private equity fund Epi-V has completed its first transaction - a £3 million investment in Aberdeen-based Brinker Technology.
Brinker uses a unique and patented particle-based technology to remotely locate and seal leaks in oil and gas production and pipeline infrastructure.
The company was spun out of the University of Aberdeen during 2002 to commercialise the innovative Platelet Technology®.
Platelets ® are discrete particles which can be released into a pipeline at a convenient location and are carried along to the leak site by the flow in the line.
When the Platelets® reach the leak site, the pressure differential across the pipe wall forces them into the leak - providing a seal and restoring integrity to the line.
After developing a proof of concept, Brinker’s Platelet Technology® has been sucessfully proven in the field. At the same time a pro-active approach to research and development has extended the use of the technology to applications in gas, water and downhole.
The business has seen steady sales with revenues more than quadrupling since 2004. The size of its addressable market is estimated to be in the region of £50 million per annum.
Brinker’s customers include BP, Shell, Statoil, BG Group, CNR International, Dana Petroleum, and Norsk Hydro.
The business is set to dramatically alter the oil and gas production and pipeline infrastructure market where repairs are currently based on costly emergency work requiring direct access to the location of the leak.
With failures in hazardous or inaccessible locations this requires the hire of highly specialised equipment and often the interruption of production.
Epi-V has invested £3 million for a 42 per cent stake in the business. Prior to the deal completing Francis Neill, who has 25 years of oilfield service industry experience with Schlumberger, Kvaerner and Expro, was appointed as Managing Director.
Epi-V will be working closely with management to build a strategy to quickly develop the customer-focused, commercial orientation required to successfully globalise the business and to meet increased demand from existing markets.
This includes immediate activities such as investing in new operational facilities and growing sales and front-end engineering resources to support expansion into new geographical areas and markets.
Nigel Leggett, Epi-V Partner, said: “Oil and gas pipelines are the arteries of the global economy and maintaining their integrity is vital to the success of financial systems all over the world.
“Brinker has the technology to revolutionise how production infrastructure is maintained and repaired, but this potential needs to be realised.
“Although it’s already generating good revenues, the business has some way to go if it is to capitalise fully on the latent demand in the global market for its innovative products and services.
“The backing of the Epi-V team gives Brinker and its management a launch pad from which to move towards full commercialisation and the aggressive market penetration and rapid profitable growth this will bring.
“This is the Epi-V fund’s first investment and a great example of the disruptive technology and entrepreneurial ideas that we are looking to back with both our capital and our strategic expertise.”
Francis Neill, MD of Brinker Technology, said: “The founding team have done an outstanding job in developing a unique technology which has the potential to extend the life of infrastructure and provide assurance of flow through pipelines across the globe.
“We’ve seen a lot of interest in the business internationally but we wanted to secure the backing of an investor with experience and a proven track record in exploiting a technology’s full market potential.
“More than that, we wanted to work closely with the personalities within the team. Collectively they have amassed a huge amount of experience, understanding and skill sets which we can now tap into to take Brinker further into the global market place.”
Professor Albert Rodger, Vice Principal and Head of the College of Physical Sciences at the University of Aberdeen is delighted with today’s announcement. He said: "Brinker Technology is a real success story for the University of Aberdeen, having been spun-out from the Institution in 2002. This is a dynamic and creative company, focused on implementing their unique technology to the advantage of the pipeline industry worldwide.
"The University is extremely pleased that the cutting-edge expertise and potential of one of our spinout companies has been recognised by such an important specialist oil and gas private equity fund company as Epi-V.”
The £50 million Epi-V fund was launched in August 2007 with the aim of making equity investments of between £2 million and £10 million in emerging technology and service companies within the upstream services sector.
ENDS November 5th 2007
Issued on behalf of Epi-V by Citypress. Press information: Email James Lloyd-Davies, Citypress or call on 0161 606 0266.
Notes to Editors:
Financial due diligence – BDO Stoy Hayward
IP due diligence - CMS Cameron McKenna
Management and Customer due diligence – Epi-V
Insurance due diligence – Willis Group
Legal due diligence – CMS Cameron McKenna
About Epi-V LLP
Epi-V supports entrepreneurs to unravel the myths of entrepreneurial success. Deploying a unique Breakthrough Entrepreneurship™ model, this scalable and transferable consultative process enables entrepreneurs to reduce risk and realise exponential potential from embedded value.
The bigger the threat to traditional market practices the greater the returns. Breakthrough Entrepreneurship™ combines thinking, foresight, and engagement to maximise on market disruption from disruptive technologies and service innovations. Epi-V works with entrepreneurs to maximize this threat, because the greater the competitive threat to market practices, the higher the perceived value of the enterprise.
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