Acquirer Spring 2013 - Livingstone Partners

SECTOR: DEFENCE & SECURITYLIVINGSTONE USED ITS CROSS-BORDERSKILLS AND EXPERIENCE OF DOINGCOMPLEX DEALS TO SELL MINETECHTO DYNASAFEDANContact:Alex John, Director, Livingstone LondonT: +44 (0)20 7484 4712E: john@livingstonepartners.co.ukPhillip McCreanor, Partner,Livingstone LondonT: +44 (0)20 7484 4725E: mccreanor@livingstonepartners.co.ukFrontierMEDEX, few of these acquirers werekeen to move into mine clearance, and it wasclear that having the two activities undercommon ownership would make an exit moredifficult. It was also clear that reorganising thebusiness and separating them into separateentities would generate greater levels of interestand greater value overall.THE LAST PIECEIn October 2011, a US health insurance companyacquired FrontierMEDEX, leaving MineTech asthe last remaining piece of the group. Livingstoneran a discreet and tightly managed process, whichculminated in the sale to Dynasafe.Livingstone’s relationship-building was criticalevery step of the way.“I’ve dealt with dozens of corporate financehouses over the years, but what struck me aboutLivingstone and MML was that they have aproper partnership mentality,” says Mitchell. “TheLivingstone team took time to understand meand the founders personally, in order to knowwhat would work. And they did some goodmatchmaking by connecting us to MML.”Phillip McCreanor, Partner at LivingstoneLondon, notes with pride the degree of hardwork it took to get the asset over the line. “In theenvironment we are in, no deal is easy, but thisone probably took longer than most. However,our ability to source buyers in different parts ofthe world and find different solutions for clients,whether for stellar assets or at the morechallenging end of the curve, came to the fore.We also take pride that an investment thesisput to MML at the start has come spectacularlygood for one of our key PE relationships.”MML Director Luke Jones backs this point,characterising the sale of the mine clearancebusiness as the culmination of a journey for thetwo firms. “Livingstone introduced us to the deal,we got in and did what we said we would do, andthen it put together the final piece of the jigsaw inhelping to dispose of MineTech,” says Jones.Livingstone’s global reach, experience inworking with overseas buyers, and the sheertenacity demonstrated by the advisory teamwere critical to the success, Jones explains.“They worked hard with us to get the bestdeal,” he adds.The end result is a mine clearance businessthat sits neatly in the portfolio of a specialistfirm that will use it strategically, and some happyinvestors who have seen through a complexseries of deals, ending up with an impressivereturn on their investment.WWW.LIVINGSTONEPARTNERS.COM // SPRING 2013 // 15