Baird buyout fund acquires Fort Atkinson firm

Baird Capital Partners (BCP), the U.S.-based buyout fund of Baird Private Equity, announced the acquisition of Digi-Star Holdings Inc., a Fort Atkinson-based international manufacturer of agriculture scales and weighing equipment.
Senior financing for the transaction is being provided by The PrivateBank and U.S. Bank National Association, with Fifth Street Finance Corp. providing the mezzanine. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
In addition to its headquarters in Fort Atkinson, Digi-Star has a plant in Panningen, The Netherlands.
The company’s customized weighing systems and software are incorporated into mobile farm equipment to provide precise control over input costs, monitor resource utilization, enhance yield management and optimize farm profitability.
“We have actively followed the agricultural products and process controls industries for the past few years and believe Digi-Star is a strong platform business that is well positioned to become the leading global precision measurement company serving the agricultural sector,” said Andrew Brickman, BCP Partner.
Brickman will join Digi-Star’s board of directors, along with Malcolm “Mac” Moore, the former CEO of Gehl Corp., and Dave Schroeder, the former CEO of Intermatic, Inc. Both Moore and Schroeder are members of BCP’s operating network and bring agricultural and process controls backgrounds.
“This transaction represents an exciting next step for Digi-Star customers and employees,” said Digi-Star president and CEO Grant Ihrke. “We look forward to working closely with Baird Capital Partners to build on our commitment to providing the highest class, precision measurement products to agricultural producers across the world.”
Baird Private Equity is the global private equity group of Milwaukee-based Robert W. Baird & Co. Inc.