Capstone Partners LLC, a leading investment banking firm, announced that it has successfully advised The DiSTI Corporation (DiSTI) on its partnership with Dos Rios Partners (Dos Rios) and Akoya Capital (Akoya). Transaction terms were not disclosed.
DiSTI provides software development toolkits and custom development services for creating 3-D user interfaces that support human machine interaction and in particular, virtual simulations used for training purposes within the aerospace and defense industry. Over the past 20 years, DiSTI has pioneered the development and commercialization of virtual maintenance training (VMT) solutions and its graphical user interface software remains the industry standard. Leading companies worldwide use DiSTI’s products to help teach complex technical activities, such as maintenance on airplanes, rotary wing and other combat vehicles, and on various engines. GL Studio®, its successful line of human machine interface tools, also supports a wide range of applications in the medical device, aircraft display, automotive display, embedded systems and mobile device markets.
Dos Rios is a private equity firm based in Austin, Texas that invests in privately-owned niche businesses. The firm prefers to invest in companies that are entrepreneur or family-owned with attractive growth prospects, a solid management team and the need for not only capital, but also operational expertise. Its lead partner in this transaction was Kevin Benoit.
Akoya Capital is a sector focused investment firm that creates and nurtures partnerships between management and capital. Its lead partner in this transaction was Jim Appleton.
The three founding partners of DiSTI (Darren Humphrey, Joe Swinski and Bill Andrews) will maintain their executive roles as part of a newly formed Board of Directors. In addition to the DiSTI founding partners and several members from Dos Rios, John Regazzi, a Managing Director at Akoya, will serve on the new Board as Chairman. John joined Akoya in 2012 and has over 40 years of experience in prominent roles at electronic information services companies including Engineering Village, Science Direct, Scirus, Scopus and most recently Elsevier Inc. (NYSE: ENL), where he served as CEO.
“It was an honor to represent DiSTI, a company that truly offers best-in-class products and services,” commented Capstone Partners’ Managing Director Ted Polk. “The business is well positioned to enjoy considerable growth with its new investment partners.”
Capstone Partners LLC is an award-winning investment banking firm dedicated to serving the corporate finance needs of middle market business owners, investors and creditors. Over the past 15 years, Capstone has earned a reputation as one of the most innovative firms in the industry, offering corporate sale & divestiture, merger & acquisition, private placement, corporate restructuring, valuation and financial advisory services. The firm maintains seven industry practices, including: Business Services, Consumer Products, Education & Training, Government Services, Health & Medical, Manufacturing & Industrial, and Technology & Telecom. Headquartered in Boston, Capstone has offices in Chicago, London, Los Angeles, New York, Orange County, Philadelphia, San Diego, Silicon Valley and Tampa with an international presence that spans 450+ professionals in 70 offices across 31 countries. For more information, please visit www.capstonellc.com.
