Wangara company sold for $125m

Drilling services company MTi Group has been sold by local private equity group Viburnum Funds, adding to a string of sales of local firms to global mining services giants.

MTi, which is led by long-serving chief executive Nicholas Bodley, has been bought by Enaex, described as the world’s third largest rock fragmentation services company.

Enaex is a subsidiary of Chilean business Sigdo Koppers.

The cost of the MTi acquisition has not been formally announced but Business News was advised it was close to $125 million.

This 'ballpark' figure was confirmed in Sigdo Koppers June 2023 financial report, which disclosed it spent $US74 million ($A113 million) on Other Investments, and stated this was "mainly" for the acquisition of MTi Group.

Over the course of 25 years, MTi has grown to have about 100 employees and four production sites in Australia, China, the United States and South Africa.

Its clients include BHP, Anglo American, Newmont, Glencore, Rio Tinto, Barrick and Vale.

The company specialises in the design, manufacture and distribution of consumable products that optimize drilling and blasting, with its main products being Blastbag and Blastshield.

Its growth has been helped by two Perth-based private equity groups.

It was acquired in 2013 by Banksia Capital, which typically invests up to $10 million in target businesses.

Viburnum acquired a 90 per cent interest in MTi on behalf of investors in 2018, with management retaining the balance.

Its backing helped the business expand internationally and catch the eye of Enaex.

The sale was completed in January after a five-month negotiation process.

Viburnum was advised on the sale by Azure Capital and law firm Norton Rose Fulbright.

It follows the sale of several major mining technology companies over the past two years.

In 2022, Perth-founded Micromine was sold to US company Aspen Technology for $900 million and Canning Vale-based Axis Mining Technology was sold to ASX company Orica in a deal worth $260 million.

In 2021, Minnovare was sold to Swedish group Hexagon and Kinetic Logging Services was sold to Swedish multinational Epiroc.