Zebra Technologies Corporation has acquired Hart Systems, a provider of physical inventory management services and a portfolio company of Topspin Partners LBO, for approximately $94 million in cash. Topspin acquired Hart Systems in November 2008.
Hart Systems is a provider of inventory counting equipment and services to retailers, primarily in the US and Canada. The company owns a fleet of mobile scanning devices that its customers use to count store inventories. The company also provides the supporting infrastructure and various reporting capabilities as part of its service. Hart System’s customers include companies in a range of retail segments including apparel, grocery, consumer electronics, convenience and automotive. Hart Systems is based in Hauppauge, NY (www.hartsystems.com).
Topspin LBO makes control investments in profitable and established lower middle-market businesses. Sectors of interest include consumer products, business services, food & beverage, retail, media, niche manufacturing and security. The firm is based near New York City in Roslyn Heights, NY (www.topspinlbo.com).
Zebra Technologies (NASDAQ: ZBRA) is a manufacturer of thermal bar code label and receipt printers, RFID smart label printer/encoders, card and kiosk printers. The company is headquartered near Chicago in Vernon Hills, IL (www.zebra.com).
“As the recognized leader in self-managed inventory solutions, Hart gives retailers better tools to optimize in-store inventories in an environment of increasingly complex global supply chains,” said Anders Gustafsson, Zebra’s chief executive officer. “It is an excellent strategic fit for Zebra. Hart’s solutions add high-value software and data analytics capabilities to Zebra, and increase our presence within the “Internet of Things” ecosystem. The business expands the portfolio of products, solutions and services Zebra provides to current customers, and gives us important relationships with new ones.”
© 2013 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 12-20-13
