OAKBROOK TERRACE, IL – October 27, 2020 – Prairie Capital Advisors, Inc.(“Prairie”) is pleased to announce Cirris Systems Corporation (“Cirris” or the“Company”) has been acquired by The Schleuniger Group (“Schleuniger”). Prairie acted as exclusive financial advisor in this transaction to Cirris and its shareholders and was led by Michael McGinley of Prairie. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Founded with a single testing product in 1984, Cirris has grown to become a leader in the development and production of wire and harness test equipment, including testers, adapters, software, accessories and custom products. Headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, they serve customers in over 20 countries on all seven continents. As an ESOP (Employee Stock Ownership Plan) company, employees at Cirris share responsibilities and benefits, thereby increasing workplace efficiency and satisfaction. Every employee-owner at Cirris focuses on promoting quality products and providing a gratifyingcustomer experience.
Founded in 1975 in Thun, Switzerland, Schleuniger is a globally-active technology companyand a leading supplier to the wire processing and testing industry. With its wholly-owned and independently managed company, DiIT, Schleuniger is also aleading player in digitization and industrial IoT (Internet of Things). The company has development and production locations in Switzerland, Germany and China. With a network of sales and service companies in North America, Europe and Asia and more than 40 distribution partners worldwide, Schleuniger is always close to its customers. Schleuniger represents the wire processing business unit of the publicly-listed Metall Zug Group and has over 900 employees including 50 apprentices worldwide.
Prairie came highly recommended to Cirris due to their extensive knowledge and expertise advising ESOP-owned companies. “Prairie was critical to our success with this transaction. They guided both sides of the transaction through the complexities of the ESOP world. Michael was super patient and a great asset in helping us understand our options and finding the right partner that was best for our unique situation,” said President and CEO, Craig Taylor. “The Prairie team spent the time in gaining an understanding of what was important to the shareholders of Cirris and effectively managed the complete transaction.”
“We are pleased to have advised Cirris on this transaction,” commented Michael McGinley.“ We believe that the cultural fit, added capabilities and geographic presence of Cirris will enable Schleuniger to continue its expansion of their broad testing portfolio.”
About Prairie Capital Advisors
Prairie offers investment banking, ESOP advisory, valuation advisory and financial reporting valuations to support the growth and ownership transition strategies of middle-market companies. Headquartered in OakbrookTerrace, Illinois, the company is a leading advisor to closely-held companies nationwide. Prairie was named the 2020 Valuations & Fairness Opinions Advisor of the Year by M&A Atlas. For more information, visit www.prairiecap.com.
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Media Contact
Wendy Gugora, Director of Marketing
Prairie Capital Advisors, Inc.
630.413.5574
wgugora@prairiecap.com
