Houlihan Lokey Advises Quadriga Capital

Houlihan Lokey is pleased to announce that SCIO Automation, a portfolio company of Quadriga Capital, has sold a majority stake to AEA Investors. This marks a further transaction in Houlihan Lokey's leading global industrial automation practice. The transaction was completed on 31 August 2023. 

Founded in 2019 by the merger of VESCON Gruppe und Schiller Automatisierungstechnik, SCIO has become a leading industrial automation company. With the strategic and financial support of the Quadriga Capital Funds as a majority shareholder, SCIO has grown organically and through strategic acquisitions. Today, the automation system integrator is active in automated intralogistics, discrete and process automation, and innovative services, with a differentiated tech stack and own products ranging from digital twins, industrial software, and proprietary cobot technology to semiconductor intralogistics. In 2022, SCIO achieved revenues of more than $200 million and employed more than 1,100 people, serving a variety of end markets, such as automotive, food and beverage, industry, e-commerce and cargo, environment, life sciences, and technology.

“Our goal remains to globally scale our platform organically and through acquisitions to enable us to further expand and strengthen our product and service offering for international blue-chip clients. For our international growth aspirations, particularly in the North American market, we are pleased that AEA, with its experience in the industrial automation market, will be joining SCIO as a majority shareholder,” said Michael Goepfarth, CEO of SCIO.

Headquartered in New York and with offices in London and Munich, AEA has developed strong expertise in the industrial automation sector, including through investments in Dematic, ProMach, and Burke Porter Group.

“The industrial automation market is growing rapidly, driven by the megatrend of industry 4.0/IoT solutions, big data, and generative AI. We are excited about our investment in SCIO, given its strong positioning as an end-to-end automation solution provider as well as its customized and innovative solutions. We look forward to supporting SCIO in its next evolutionary steps in the global automation market with AEA’s resources, capital, and know-how,” said Ramzi Gedeon, Partner at AEA.

Quadriga Capital Funds will continue to support SCIO, now via Fund VI. “In the past years, SCIO has successfully acquired eight high-tech automation companies, fully integrating them into the divisional group structure,” added Jörg Mugrauer, Managing Partner of Quadriga Capital Eigenkapitalberatung GmbH. “We are thrilled to continue supporting SCIO’s success story together with AEA, a strong partner with extensive automation expertise.”

SCIO’s system integration services now cover the entire automation value chain thanks to its holistic automation programming, integration, and software capabilities. “With our strengthened shareholder base, SCIO intends to accelerate its international growth path through our dedicated M&A strategy. We are actively looking to team up with innovative automation solution providers to shape the future of the global automation industry,” concludes Michael Goepfarth.

Quadriga Capital is a leading equity partner for medium-sized companies in the German-speaking region and neighboring countries, focusing on growth-oriented businesses in the healthcare, tech-enabled services, and smart industries sectors. Quadriga Capital Funds has invested in more than 40 companies in recent years, which in turn have made more than 140 follow-on acquisitions. Entrepreneurial management teams are supported by a broad range of experience and expertise, as well as an international industrial network with a strong focus on sustainability and digitalization. Quadriga Capital Fund VI is an SFDR Article 8+ Fund. Quadriga Capital Funds are advised by Quadriga Capital Eigenkapitalberatung GmbH.

AEA Investors was founded in 1968 by the Rockefeller, Mellon, and Harriman family interests and S.G. Warburg & Co. as a private investment vehicle for a selected group of industrial family offices with substantial assets. AEA has an extraordinary global network, built over many years, that includes leading industrial families, business executives, and leaders, many of whom invest with AEA as active individual investors and/or join its portfolio company boards or act in other advisory roles. Today, AEA’s approximately 110 investment professionals operate globally, with offices in New York, Stamford, San Francisco, London, Munich, and Shanghai. The firm manages funds that have approximately $19 billion of invested and committed capital, including the leveraged buyouts of middle-market companies and small business companies, growth capital, and mezzanine and senior debt investments.

SCIO Automation Group is an international end-to-end automation platform that passionately believes in its mission to support companies on their journey toward industry 4.0. As a system integrator, SCIO automates production and logistics processes. As an innovator, SCIO develops value-added and customized automation products for the autonomous mobile robots, software, and cleanroom sectors, as well as for food intralogistics and industrial labeling. The SCIO platform currently comprises 10 company brands, totaling more than 1,100 employees at 30 locations in eight countries worldwide, all of whom play a part in implementing the smart factory concept for global players in a wide range of industries.

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