INTERVIEW: 3i's Sale Of Inspectorate "Always Part Of Plan"

By Marietta Cauchi Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES LONDON (Dow Jones)--3i Group PLC's (III.LN) sale of Inspectorate, the oil testing and certification business owned by 3i's portfolio company Inspicio Group was always part of the plan, 3i partner Alan Giddins told Dow Jones Newswires Tuesday. Earlier Tuesday, 3i announced that Inspicio had sold Inspectorate to French assessment and certification company Bureau Veritas (BVI.FR) for GBP450 million and that it would change the name of the remaining company to ESG, comprising Environmental Scientifics Group, a U.K. environmental testing business and Eclipse Scientific Group, a food testing business in the U.K. and Ireland. 3i bought Inspicio in February 2008 in a GBP345 million public to private transaction. The company was two distinct businesses, which the private equity firm always intended to split. "Inspicio was never going to be popular as an AIM-listed company comprising two distinct businesses--an oil and petroleum testing business in 60 countries and a U.K.-based food and environmental testing business," said Giddins. "So the intention was always for a split," he said. 3i had also identified Bureau Veritas as the best buyer of the oil testing part of the company early on--"it was just a question of when would be a good time to sell," added Giddins. During the period of 3i's ownership, Inspectorate's revenue grew by 75% as a result of several bolt-on acquisitions and currently accounts for 70% of Inspicio's total revenue, which stood at GBP246 million in 2009. Having recouped all its money on the sale of just part of the business, 3i now plans to use ESG as a consolidator in the fragmented food testing sector buying up complementary companies as well as growing it organically. -By Marietta Cauchi, Dow Jones Newswires; +44 207 842 9241; marietta.cauchi@dowjones.com (END) Dow Jones Newswires June 22, 2010 07:33 ET (11:33 GMT)