IFL Ventures would like to congratulate the shareholders of Bluefield Asset Management Specialists Pty Ltd (“Bluefield”) on the successful sale of its asset management and maintenance consultancy practice to Deloitte Australia.
Bluefield is an Australian company that was established in 2010 by founder Gerard Wood. It operates primarily in the resources sector, providing advisory services covering the full life cycle of mining assets – from equipment strategy and planning, to optimisation, operation, reliability improvement and decommissioning. Its mission is to help clients increase equipment availability and reliability, reduce costs, and manage critical asset risks. Headquartered in Brisbane, Bluefield has ~100 staff located in Brisbane, Perth, Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne, Adelaide and Hobart.
Over the years, Bluefield established itself as an industry expert in the mining asset maintenance sector. Nevertheless, the management became aware of the need of finding a strategic partner to help the business expand its service offering and move up the value chain for its next phase of growth. Prior to the transaction, Bluefield’s client relationship was established primarily at a site level and most revenues were project-based.
In late 2020, the shareholders of Bluefield decided to launch a formal process to look for a suitable strategic partner or acquirer for the business. IFL was engaged to assist with the process. By April 2021, after an extensive search, Deloitte Australia emerged as a well-suited strategic investor. Deloitte wished to expand its capabilities in asset management and maintenance consultancy services and has been on the lookout for suitable acquisition targets. The acquisition of Bluefield’s asset management practice will enable Deloitte to become a true one-stop-shop for comprehensive, top to bottom asset management services.
The Bluefield team formally joined Deloitte Consulting’s Transformation & Operations team on 1 November 2021. Three senior executives of Bluefield, Gerard Wood (Bluefield Managing Director), Drew Hislop (General Manager – Growth) and Steve Flannery (General Manager – Operations) will become Deloitte Consulting partners post transaction.
IFL Ventures represented Bluefield and worked closely with the shareholders throughout the entire process, including preparing the information memorandum, marketing the business to a select group of well-suited investors, managing the due diligence process and assisting with transaction structuring, contract negotiation and final completion.
“If you even have any inkling that a business exit might be for you, but you think that it’s way off in the future, then that’s the right time to talk to Graeme and IFL Ventures because that’s the time when you need to structure your business for an exit, or for other options, because Graeme will set you up for whatever option works, even if its staying in the business. It’s about exploring what’s best, or what options you have, and structuring things so you actually have those options for real. Thanks Graeme. Appreciate it. Everything you’ve done has been amazing.”
Gerard Wood – Managing Director – Bluefield
Deal team: Graeme McKellar, Jenny Zeng, Lisa McKellar