SAN DIEGO, March 21, 2019 -- The Bridgewest Group, a San Diego-based private investment company, has announced the acquisition of New Zealand-based software services provider, Provoke Solutions. Bridgewest NZ Holdings Limited has acquired 100% of the Capital Stock of The Group Limited, the holding company that owns and operates Provoke Solutions in New Zealand and the United States. The acquisition of Provoke marks Bridgewest's entrance into the software services industry as it seeks to add to its global high-tech portfolio, which includes investments in semiconductor, biotech, wireless communications, and infrastructure for IoT.

The acquisition will infuse substantial growth capital into Provoke and will provide significant opportunities to expand Provoke's developer and sales teams in both New Zealand and the United States. With this new infusion of capital, Provoke will invest heavily to expand and enhance its highly regarded software solutions targeting banking and finance, utilities, education and manufacturing verticals.

Dr. Masood Tayebi, a founding partner and CEO of Bridgewest, will become chairman of Provoke's Board of Directors. In regards to the acquisition, Dr. Tayebi stated, "Bridgewest has been tracking the software services and SaaS industries for some time now, seeking to find the right company and team to support through the application of capital and other extensive Group resources. With Provoke, we believe we have a tremendous partnership opportunity to capture growth in the large and rapidly growing software services and SaaS industries. We are thrilled to be partnering with Provoke and its fantastic team to help them achieve their fullest potential."

One of Bridgewest's paramount investment criteria is to find companies with solid management teams. It is a core philosophy in all of Bridgewest's investments to create strong, lasting partnership with the management teams in which it invests. Keeping in that tradition, the core management of Provoke will stay on to run the operations and implement the growth strategy moving forward. Mason Pratt, CEO of Provoke, stated, "We are excited about Bridgewest's financial and strategic partnership which enables us to allocate new growth capital to expand our service offering to new and existing clients on a global basis. We look forward to working closely with Bridgewest to leverage their deep industry relationships, operational expertise and proven track record of achieving high value outcomes for all stakeholders."

Over past twenty years, the Bridgewest Group has sought out controlling interest investments in rapidly growing high-tech industries. Bridgewest's value added investment strategy seeks to supplement existing management teams that have created disruptive technologies with Bridgewest's extensive operational and management capabilities, deep industry relationships and strong financial backing. Bridgewest has a proven track record of partnering with young companies to help them achieve great success and superior financial returns for both investors and employee partners.

Established in 2001, Provoke is an end-to-end software company that delivers enterprise-grade solutions. With a focus on enabling digital transformation, spanning; enterprise applications, digital self- service and the modern workplace, their service offering places emphasis on the user experience, software adoption and technical innovation. Their client portfolio comprises; global corporates, start- ups, central and local government agencies and a range of private sector organisations spanning all major verticals. Provoke has offices in Auckland, Wellington and Seattle

Founded in 1999, The Bridgewest Group is a closely held investment company that seeks to create long term value through application of superior industry knowledge, operational expertise and significant financial resources to attractive investment opportunities. The Group structures its global investments across four functional areas including private equity, real estate, capital markets and financial services. The Group's private equity investments are primarily in biotech, wireless communications, infrastructure for IoT, and semiconductor. Bridgewest is based in San Diego, CA and has investments across the USA, Europe, Asia and Australasia.