(New York, NY) — Cortec Group (“Cortec”), a New York private equity firm which invests in middle market specialty business-to-business and consumer products, healthcare, and service businesses, announced that Chauvet & Sons LLC (“Chauvet”), a portfolio company of Cortec Group Fund VI, L.P., acquired ChamSys Ltd. (“ChamSys”), a Southampton, UK-based designer and manufacturer of lighting controllers. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Chauvet is a leading provider of branded entertainment lighting products, trussing, controllers and related equipment used in applications ranging from DJ, club, corporate events, hospitality venues, and houses of worship, to more demanding settings including concert tours, theaters, television and “architainment.” ChamSys provides Chauvet a strong presence in the controller market that complements its Chauvet Professional lighting fixtures and LED video panels.
“We are very excited about the opportunity to join forces with ChamSys,” said Albert Chauvet, CEO of Chauvet. “ChamSys has a well-deserved reputation for innovation, quality and value, the same principles that are at the heart of our own Chauvet brands. We’re looking forward to building ChamSys in the USA and making this outstanding line of controllers available to an even larger market. Together ChamSys and Chauvet are now in a position to better cover and serve markets worldwide.”
ChamSys will continue to operate as an independent business unit from its facility in Southampton, UK. ChamSys founders Chris Kennedy and George McDuff will remain as Managing Directors of the company and, together with Sales Director Tony Cameron, will continue to lead its current staff of software and hardware engineers, and its sales and support teams.
Chris Kennedy added “Chauvet and ChamSys share similar cultures, a strong sense of respect for our customers, an appreciation of our staffs and a powerful drive to be the best in our markets. This partnership is clearly a logical step for both companies. We deeply appreciate that Chauvet is committed to building on our 14-year heritage so that ChamSys becomes even stronger in the future.”
Jonathan Stein, a Partner at Cortec, commented “Chauvet has continued to perform very well since our investment last year, and we are pleased to support management in the acquisition of ChamSys. The strategic benefits to both companies were apparent from the first meeting, and we share each team’s enthusiasm to realize their common vision.” He concluded “this investment is consistent with Cortec’s longstanding approach of partnering with entrepreneur owners to grow their companies via organic and acquisition initiatives.”
About Chauvet
Chauvet, headquartered in the U.S. with offices in the U.K., Belgium and Mexico, is a leading global provider of professional luminaires, trusses, controllers and related equipment. The company has a diverse portfolio of brands and award winning products that meet the needs of customers across all sectors of the lighting market, ranging from concert touring to festivals, theater, broadcast, corporate, and architectural applications. All brands under the Chauvet umbrella share a commitment to innovation, value and performance. For more information, visit www.chauvetlighting.com
About ChamSys
Based in the U.K., ChamSys was founded in 2003 by a group of designers and product developers seeking to create a lighting console that offered greater user flexibility. The company’s MagicQ controllers have set an industry standard used in some of the most prominent concert, theater, broadcast and club applications around the world. ChamSys has recently launched its new top of the range MagicQ MQ500 Stadium console and will be showing further additions to the Stadium offering at PLS Frankfurt. For more information, visit www.chamsys.co.uk
About Cortec
Founded in 1984, Cortec invests in high value-added, middle-market specialty business-to-business and consumer products, healthcare, and service companies with owners and management teams who want to work with Cortec to drive growth and improve business fundamentals. For more information, visit www.cortecgroup.com.
