Watervale Equity Partners, a Cleveland-based private equity firm, has acquired EMX and its subsidiaries. No financial terms were disclosed. EMX, also headquartered in Cleveland, is a leading manufacturer of sensors and controls for the access control industry and process automation applications for various industrial markets. Its main product categories include photoeyes, vehicle detectors, color sensors, luminescence sensors and other custom specialty sensors. Joe Williams, who also invested in the transaction alongside Watervale and will lead the company as CEO, said in a statement, “Our team is excited about the opportunities available to us, and we look forward to working with Watervale to continue our growth and achieve our vision for the company.” Mike Faremouth, managing director at Watervale, said in a statement, “EMX is an exciting company with an excellent reputation for innovative products and superior service. We are excited to partner with management to realize the many growth opportunities we envision, including new products, channels and complementary add-on acquisitions.” “EMX fits our investment criteria perfectly,” said Jim Guddy, managing director at Watervale, in a statement. “It provides high-quality engineered products serving a variety of end markets, and we are thrilled that our first investment is with a Cleveland-based company.”
