3i launches 228m offer for Inspicio

The private equity group 3i has made a takeover offer for Inspicio, the AIM-listed inspection and testing specialist.

Angus Newco, a 3i-funded and managed vehicle, has offered 225p per Inspicio share, valuing the company at 228m.

Inspicio, which leads the market in testing traded commodities such as petroleum, oil and coal for big-name clients like BP, Shell and BHP Billiton, has been considering bids for its business since early October and supports 3i's offer.

Angus said yesterday that it had already acquired 22 per cent of Inspicio's issued share capital, and had received irrevocable undertakings in respect of an additional 16.6 per cent.

Inspicio chief executive, Mark Silver, said: "This is a good deal ... it will enable us to exploit fully the growth opportunities in the global testing and inspection market with the support of a long-term investor who understands our business and our strategy."

Alan Giddins, the global head of business services at 3i, said: "We're very pleased with the deal it takes us further into a very interesting market space. We've already touched on this before and our biggest asset so far has been Inspector, another testing business in Finland, which we bought for around 240m in May."

He added: "The key attraction is the fragmented market where Inspicio has taken a number of steps towards consolidation."

Inspicio, which made its market debut in 2005, has made four major acquisitions in the past two years, seizing Inspectorate, a commodity testing business, ESG, which specialises in environmental testing, Eclipse Scientific, a food and drink testing service, and Scientifics, an independent analytical testing and consultancy business which it bought for 22m in June.

The company, which made a pre-tax profit of just over 3m in the first six months of this year, recently won a major contract for ground testing at the 2012 Olympics site in London.