Wragge & Co LLP Private Equity Team has advised NVM and newco on the £16 million recommended offer for Product Support Ltd.

NVM provided £7 million to back the existing management team, taking a majority economic stake in the business. Senior debt was provided by Royal Bank of Scotland. The offer was issued on 14 December 2006, closed on 4 January 2007, with final completion of share acquisitions on 25 January 2007.

Private equity partner Ian Piggin and associate Catherine Clarke led the Wragge & Co team, assisted by Sarah Woolf. Neil Pearson, Andrew Smith, Joanna Clarke, Anna Colley and Michael Collins provided additional support on tax, corporate, property and pensions matters. The team worked alongside NVM investment manager Peter Hodson, who managed the deal.

Peter Hodson said: "This was a large and complex transaction to be completed in a short time scale. We wanted a law firm with sufficient expertise, resource, commitment and commercial application to execute the transaction. Wragges delivered on all fronts."

Ian Piggin said: "This was a complex deal involving a large business with 16 sites, more than 400 employees and a similar number of shareholders. It was an important deal for NVM, being one of their biggest to date, so they wanted a firm with an excellent reputation and strong experience to anticipate issues and provide sensible, commercial advice."

NVM is a firm of venture capital managers with a national network across the UK. It has more than £180 million under management in four venture capital trusts and one private equity investment trust. NVM specialises in making equity investments of between £1 million and £10 million in UK unquoted companies.

Product Support is one of the UK's leading suppliers of logistics services to the defence industry. Its clients include The Ministry of Defence, BAE Systems, AgustaWestland, Thales and Honeywell. Morgan Cole advised management.

Wragge & Co's 17-strong Private Equity Team is a single pool of experts delivering top quality legal advice and commercial solutions to mid-market investors in London and nationally. It works closely with debt finance colleagues to structure deals and deliver results for clients like 3i, Close Brothers Private Equity, Dunedin Capital Partners, Electra Kingsway, Lloyds Development Capital, Matrix Private Equity Partners, Octopus and Aberdeen Asset Managers. Highlights include the £93 million cross-border Rosemount Pharmaceuticals MBO for Close Brothers Private Equity.

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For further information about this press release, contact Kathryn Hobbs on +44 (0)121 213 2397, Alexa Highfield on +44 (0)121 213 2396 or Michelle Dolphin on +44 (0)121 213 2369

This press release may contain information of general interest about current legal issues, but does not give legal advice.