BDA advises on investment in BISim by Riverside

Business Development Asia LLC (“BDA”) is pleased to announce that its client Bohemia Interactive Simulations s.r.o. (“BISim” or “Bohemia”) has partnered with the private equity firm The Riverside Company (“Riverside”), which has made a significant investment in BISim for an undisclosed consideration. BDA served as a joint financial advisor to the owners of BISim in the transaction along with CN Finance (“CNF”). BDA identified and sourced potential investors across Europe, the US, and Asia and advised on transaction process and negotiations with CNF.

Riverside’s interest is underpinned by its strong belief in the potential of games for training, and BISim’s proven Virtual Battlespace (VBS) training environment. VBS has become one of the most widely used training simulations in western militaries and, as a result, BISim has experienced significant growth over the past decade. BISim has established offices in Australia, the Czech Republic, the United States, the United Kingdom and Poland, and has important enduring contracts to support military organisations including the United States Marine Corps, United States Army, United Kingdom Ministry of Defence and the Australian Defence Force.

Based on extensive on-going development of VBS and multi-national expansion, BISim expects to grow strongly over the next few years. Riverside, with its experience in working with smaller, high growth companies and its international presence, is an ideal partner for BISim. Riverside will assist the company to further expand its multi-national operations and development teams. BISim’s innovation plans for VBS will focus on meeting clients’ on-going and additional training requirements as well as further leveraging cutting-edge game technology.

Peter Morrison, the CEO of BISim, said “We are very proud that Riverside has chosen to partner with BISim, as a very experienced and mature private equity firm. We look forward to years of further success built upon game-based training technology.” Following the transaction, BISim management will remain essentially unchanged, with Peter Morrison continuing as CEO and Mark Dzulko as CTO.

“Bohemia is leading the way in a technology segment which is already experiencing extremely strong and sustained growth, and will do so in the coming years,” said Riverside Partner Dr. Martin Scott, who leads Riverside’s Software and IT specialization in Europe. “VBS2 and the pipeline of innovations and products that Bohemia has are setting the standards in this dynamic space. These products and services are transforming the way in which military personnel are trained. Most importantly, the use of these training tools leads to saving lives.”

About Bohemia Interactive Simulations
BISim is a world leader in providing simulation technologies and integrated training solutions for government and commercial organisations. With origins in the gaming industry, BIS has repeatedly delivered high fidelity, low cost, disruptive technology into the virtual simulation domain. BIS has successfully exploited game-based technology with stunning visuals and applied this to a range of breakthrough simulation products. Their flagship product, VBS2, is employed for daily tactical training and mission rehearsal by most western militaries. Further information is available on www.bisimulations.com

About The Riverside Company
The Riverside Company is a global private equity firm focused on acquiring growing businesses valued at up to $200 million (€200 million in Europe). Since its founding in 1988, Riverside has invested in more than 300 transactions. The firm’s international portfolio includes more than 70 companies. Further information is available on www.riversidecompany.com

About BDA
Business Development Asia LLC (“BDA”) is a leader in cross-border investment banking in Asia. BDA advises on M&A, capital raising, and restructuring. BDA has been consistently owned and managed by the same team since 1996. BDA has a track record of providing independent advice to blue-chip corporate and financial sponsor clients from North America, Europe and Asia. BDA was named Investment Banking Firm of the Year by The M&A Advisor in both 2012 and 2010. BDA is headquartered in New York with offices in London, Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Mumbai, Bahrain, Seoul and Tokyo. BDA formed a partnership with William Blair & Company in 2011. Further information is available at www.bdapartners.com