Centerbridge Partners, the $20 billion US investment/PE firm has just lodged a 12% substantial holding in mining services company Boart Longyear

Centerbridge Partners, the $20 billion US investment/PE firm has just lodged a 12% substantial holding in mining services company Boart Longyear. Earlier this month shares in Boart Longyear touched record lows of $.10 following numerous downgrades, concerns around the Company's financial health and a credit rating downgrade. Steve Johnson, CIO of Forager Funds, says the sector is ripe for consolidation. I think mining services is ripe for consolidation. Work is hard to come by so it makes a lot of sense to put a number of smaller players together and reduce the overheads as a percentage of revenue. And there are a few cashed up players, like UGL and Downer EDI, so I expect we'll see some action. I won't speculate as to names on the receiving end - it could be any number of them. Boart Longyear shares have bounced to $0.22 on substantial volume.