The private equity firm J.F. Lehman & Company on Tuesday said it has acquired the United Kingdom-based holding company Aeronautical & GI Holdings Ltd (AGI), which owns subsidiaries in Britain and the United States that serve the aerospace and defense industries in the areas of instrumentation, night vision testing and lighting.

Terms of the deal for AGI, which was part of Britain’s HWH Investments, were not disclosed. AGI’s U.K.-based subsidiary is Aeronautical & General Instruments Ltd., which manufactures a wide range of instruments and systems for defense and civil markets worldwide.

AGI's Helicopter Visual Approach System is used on carrier and non-carrier vessels. Photo: AGI
AGI’s Helicopter Visual Approach System is used on carrier and non-carrier vessels. Photo: AGI

Aeronautical & General Instruments serves the marine, naval, airport equipment and tactical markets and provides test equipment for aircraft cannon and large caliber gun barrels. The company has about 125 employees.

Hoffman Engineering, the Connecticut-based subsidiary of AGI, has about 65 employees. The company provides test equipment for night vision, photonics and lighting. The company also makes lighting components for aircraft, ground vehicles, marine vessels and other military applications.

Combined, the two AGI subsidiaries serve hundreds of customers in over 50 countries.

“AGI Holdings provides a differentiated portfolio of highly engineered sensor and lighting products and has an exceptional track record of quality and performance,” Steve Brooks, partner at J.F. Lehman, said in a statement. “The company’s best-in-class offering have resulted in diversified, long-standing positions with leading military and commercial customers on many platforms worldwide.

Debt financing for the deal was provided by BNP Paribas.