BV Investment Partners Announces Recapitalization of PetroSkills

BOSTON, Sept. 28 /PRNewswire/ -- BV Investment Partners (formerly Boston Ventures), a leading middle market private equity firm investing in the information and business services, communications and media sectors, today announced the recapitalization of PetroSkills, a leading provider of competency-based training and information solutions for energy companies worldwide.  The investment in PetroSkills is made in partnership with the Company's existing management team.  Executives and co-owners Ford Brett and Dennis Wing, along with other members of senior management, will maintain a material minority ownership position in the Company.  BV will have a controlling interest in the Company.

Founded in 1963 and based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, PetroSkills is the leading provider of technical training for the oil and gas industry.  In 2000, Mr. Brett and Mr. Wing acquired the predecessor company from its founders and led the formation of PetroSkills and the PetroSkills Alliance.  PetroSkills is well-recognized for its breadth and quality of course offerings across an expansive set of more than 200 knowledge areas within upstream, downstream, and HSE petroleum subject disciplines. The PetroSkills Alliance consists of over twenty global energy companies and is the industry's leading forum for collaborative development and refinement of competency programs and curriculum.  In addition, PetroSkills provides dynamic software and information solutions that help global energy companies assess and fulfill their workforce development needs, and help oil and gas engineers and operations personnel advance their careers.  Through its full suite of training, content, Alliance member engagement and proprietary software solutions, PetroSkills is able to meet the full breadth of its clients' technical learning and career development needs.

Justin Harrison, a Partner at BV who led the investment, said, "Since first contacting PetroSkills' management team over a year ago, we've gotten to know them and their Company very well.  BV is proud to support PetroSkills' management team, who are recognized throughout the industry as trusted partners.  We share management's view that long-term demand drivers for oil and gas resources, the increasing technological complexity of finding and extracting oil and gas, and a demographic shift in the industry's workforce composition will drive a growing and sustainable need for quality technical training and competency-based solutions.  We believe that the Company has tremendous growth prospects over the next several years and that we have a partner in Ford Brett who is passionate about and committed to the continued success of PetroSkills."

Ford Brett, CEO of PetroSkills, said, "Our new relationship with BV Investment Partners will accelerate PetroSkills' development of new platforms for delivery of education and training to the industry.  With the ongoing 'big crew change' and heightened awareness for safety and training we are particularly pleased to work with BV's fine team to extend our global reach, and expand how we deliver learning, competency development, and software solutions to the worldwide petroleum industry."

Vikrant Raina, Managing Partner of BV, said, "PetroSkills provides us the opportunity to invest in a best in class management team operating in an area of significant secular growth.  Continuing education is a sector we know well and we recognize that ongoing technical development of the workforce will become an even more critical component of the global energy industry."

BV Investment Partners also capitalized on its extensive network of operating partners by engaging Bob Dowdell, who was CEO of BV's former portfolio company Marshall & Swift, as an active investor of PetroSkills.  Mr. Dowdell will join Messrs. Harrison and Raina on the PetroSkills Board of Directors.  Mr. Dowdell, a founder of Career Education Corporation, which grew from a start-up to a $2 billion revenue post-secondary training company, will also serve in an interim senior consulting role at PetroSkills.

PetroSkills' customers include many of the world's largest energy companies, including BP, Shell, Chevron, Halliburton, Saudi Aramco, ExxonMobil, Occidental Petroleum, ConocoPhillips, Repsol YPF, Marathon, Swift Energy, PTTEP, Woodside, Baker-Hughes, BG Group, Nexen, Talisman, MOL, Pertamina, Maersk, Eni S.p.A. and others.

About BV Investment Partners

BV Investment Partners is one of the oldest and most experienced sector-focused private equity firms in North America.  Since its founding in 1983, the firm has invested over $2.6 billion in over 70 companies, actively targeting investments in the information and business services, communications and media industries.  For more information, please visit www.bvlp.com.

SOURCE BV Investment Partners