CogneSense and its private-equity parent, L Squared Capital Partners, recently acquired L&J Technologies, which designs and manufactures precision industrial tank level gauging, equipment, control systems, and solutions for safety and compliance in bulk storage industrial tank applications.
The acquisition is the first for CogneSense since it was founded by L Squared last year, the company reported. The deal is part of the firm’s “buy-and-build” strategy to combine long-standing environmental sensing, measurement, monitoring, and control businesses with younger companies that add additional technological innovation and capabilities. The focus of this strategy is on the highly fragmented environmental, health, and safety end-markets within the broader sensing and internet of things (IoT) industries.
“We are thrilled to be working with the team at L&J Technologies as the first acquisition as part of the CogneSense strategy,” CogneSense CEO Paul Dhillon said in a news release. “Our mission at CogneSense is to leverage innovative technologies alongside best-in-class companies like L&J, which have been successfully servicing their customer base for decades. Lou Jannotta and the team at L&J have built an industry-leading business, and we are excited to continue providing high-quality products and services to its loyal customers.
“Jim Jannotta, Lou’s son, who has been with the company for 25 years and served as VP, will become the general manager of the L&J division.”
Jannotta said he’s “thrilled” to collaborate with L Squared and CogneSense. “Together, we’ll leverage cutting-edge technologies, enhance our offerings, and provide even greater value to our loyal customer base,” he said.
CogneSense plans to continue searching for acquisition targets of all sizes across EHS end markets, with a focus on partnering with manufactures of sensors, measurement and control equipment, IoT device manufacturers, and monitoring application providers.
“L Squared has worked closely with Paul Dhillon on L Squared’s Raptor Scientific platform over the last five years, and together over the last nine months, we have developed the CogneSense strategy to identify the right foundation for the platform. We are very pleased to work with L&J as that starting point,” said Sean Barrette, CogneSense board member and partner at L Squared. “We are committed to providing the necessary capital and strategic resources to accelerate growth and build CogneSense into a leading provider of mission-critical sensing and IoT solutions to the environmental, health, and safety sectors.”