3i sells Epcon stake

3i has realised its investment in Epcon Offshore, a Norwegian headquartered provider of produced water treatment systems for the oil & gas industry, to M-I Swaco, the US supplier of drilling fluid.

No return details have been disclosed for the deal, which brings to an end a 15 month long holding period by 3i. Since its £2.2m investment in Epcon in November 2004, the value of the business has risen by 3.5x through international expansion, technology development and acquisitions. Arne Aune and Mike Fleming were appointed as CEO and non-executive director respectively during this time. Last year Epcon generated annual sale of €22m.