Black Swan acquired by PNG’s TrueNorth Capital
Black Swan International, PNG’s leading security services company, has been sold by its international owners to Papua New Guinea’s TrueNorth Capital, concluding several months of negotiations.
On 17 August 2023, Sentinel Global Holdings Pte Ltd (Sentinel) confirmed the sale of Black Swan to TrueNorth Services Limited, a subsidiary of Papua New Guinean investment firm TrueNorth Capital owned in turn by leading Papua New Guinean businessman Mr Anthony Smaré.
In the last five years Black Swan has undertaken significant changes in its operating model. This included a diversification of its customer base, enhancement of its head office and development of support bases in both Port Moresby and Lae to improve its capabilities and performance as PNG’s leading top-tier security services company. The sale also included the affiliated training company, Pacific Development & Training Institute (PDTI). Sentinel plans to focus on other investments and operations in the Asia Pacific.
Sentinel’s Management said “We are proud of our record with Black Swan over the last five years, providing consistently high service to our clients whilst providing training and employment opportunities for thousands of Papua New Guineans around PNG at clients’ sites. I am happy that we were able to keep Black Swan fully operational during the recent challenging Covid pandemic supporting the needs of our customers and retaining the majority of our workforce for that period. Importantly, we are leaving the company in a very healthy financial state, having met all of our statutory requirements and obligations to our workforce and PNG. I thank our valued customers and all of our staff for their support of Black Swan during our tenure as owners.”
