Arsenal Capital Partners Acquires Automation Solutions Leader Eckhart from LFM Capital

Arsenal Capital Partners, a private equity firm that specializes in investments in industrial growth and healthcare companies, has acquired automation solutions provider Eckhart from LFM Capital.

Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Eckhart’s advanced engineering, design, simulation, and integration services, along with proprietary tooling and other automation and robotics systems, support customers at critical points in the automation value chain.

Eckhart partners with blue-chip customers to design and implement automation solutions that solve complex problems and improve accuracy and efficiency in a number of attractive end markets, including ecommerce, engineered products, electric vehicles, transportation, and consumer products.

Andy Storm, CEO of Eckhart, says: “We are excited to announce this strategic growth investment from Arsenal, which will enable us to take our business to new heights, scale our team, and better serve our customers.

“Arsenal’s extensive knowledge of the sector and track record of building high-growth, innovation-rich industrial technology businesses gave us confidence that they are the right partner.”

Aaron Wolfe, an investment partner of Arsenal, says: “We are thrilled to work closely with Eckhart’s senior leadership team to support a world-class automation platform in its next phase of growth.

“Eckhart’s solutions are critical to driving higher productivity, efficiency and precision, which is increasingly more valuable as customers compete on a global scale.

“Arsenal plans to invest a significant amount of incremental capital to accelerate growth, augment the solution set, and further penetrate attractive end markets.”

Daniel Burseth, vice president of Eckhart, says: “The partnership with Arsenal comes at an opportune time as our customers invest at a record rate in automation for their operations.

“With Arsenal’s industrial track record and continued investment in expanding capabilities, Eckhart will become an even more important partner to a global customer base.”

Sal Gagliardo, an operating partner of Arsenal, says: “As systems increase in complexity, the design and integration of automation solutions becomes essential to efficient operations.

“We see significant opportunity ahead to leverage our collective industry expertise and deep financial resources to make Eckhart a clear innovation leader. As a firm, Arsenal will continue to invest in automation megatrends.”

William Blair & Company served as financial advisor to Eckhart and LFM Capital on this transaction, and Bass, Berry & Sims served as legal advisor to Eckhart and LFM.

Harris Williams served as financial advisor to Arsenal, and Kirkland & Ellis served as legal advisor to Arsenal.