Hitachi Ltd. will acquire Holland-based JR Automation Technologies LLC in a $1.425 billion deal announced by Hitachi and New York-based Crestview Partners.
JR is a leading provider of intelligent automated manufacturing and distribution technology solutions. Outgoing JR Chairman Mike DuBose said the Hitachi deal will enable his company to maintain its strong growth trajectory.
“Over the past four years, we have built on JR's strong entrepreneurial passion for custom automated solutions and put in place systems and processes that have allowed the company to rapidly scale around the world,” DuBose said in a statement. “JR has become the largest independent provider of custom automation systems in North America while simultaneously increasing revenue generated internationally to approximately 25% of the company.”
JR serves customers all over the world in a variety of industries, helping to transform how the world's leading aerospace, automotive, e-commerce and life sciences companies make and distribute products. The company has more than 2,000 employees, 80% of which work in technical capacities.
"Since our investment in JR in 2015, the company has grown dramatically from $170 million of sales and five production facilities in North America to $600+ million of sales and 23 facilities worldwide,” Crestview Partner and Co-head of Industrials Alex Rose said in a statement.
The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2019, subject to customary closing conditions including regulatory approvals.
Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC and BofA Merrill Lynch acted as financial advisers and Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP acted as legal adviser to JR and the selling shareholders. Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities acted as a financial adviser and Allen & Overy LLP acted as legal adviser to Hitachi.
