Optical software maker Zemax acquired by investment firm EQT from Arlington Capital
EQT Mid Market US GP (EQT) has acquired Zemax Software Holdings (Kirkland, WA), a maker of optical and illumination design software, from Arlington Capital Partners. Arlington Capital had acquired Zemax in 2014, when it was spun off from Radiant Zemax. Zemax will continue to be led by current CEO, Mark Nicholson.
According to Nicholson, "Our partnership with Arlington has been a tremendous success. During their ownership, Zemax made substantial investments and demonstrated consistent strong organic growth. As we enter our next stage of growth, we are pleased to partner with EQT as we continue to expand our product offerings and deepen our customer focus.”
EQT is an investment firm with approximately EUR 50 billion in raised capital across 27 funds. EQT funds have portfolio companies in Europe, Asia, and the US with total sales of more than EUR 19 billion and approximately 110,000 employees. Financial terms of the Zemax deal were not disclosed.
Zemax software is used to develop a range of products including space telescopes, augmented reality glasses, lidar in autonomous vehicles, smartphone cameras, and biomedical imaging devices.
Source: EQT
Conard Holton
Conard Holton has 25 years of science and technology editing and writing experience. He was formerly a staff member and consultant for government agencies such as the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority and the International Atomic Energy Agency, and engineering companies such as Bechtel. He joined Laser Focus World in 1997 as senior editor, becoming editor in chief of WDM Solutions, which he founded in 1999. In 2003 he joined Vision Systems Design as editor in chief, while continuing as contributing editor at Laser Focus World. Conard became editor in chief of Laser Focus World in August 2011, a role in which he served through August 2018. He then served as Editor at Large for Laser Focus World and Co-Chair of the Lasers & Photonics Marketplace Seminar from August 2018 through January 2022. He received his B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania, with additional studies at the Colorado School of Mines and Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.