STAMFORD, Conn.—Atlantic Street Capital, a private equity firm targeting entrepreneurial businesses, is forming Advancing Eyecare Holdings to bring together its portfolio company Lombart Instrument, a leading U.S. distributor of ophthalmic instruments to ophthalmologists and optometrists, with Marco Ophthalmic Inc., a market leading, high-tech instrumentation supplier. The financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed in the announcement of the new entity this morning. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to be completed in the first quarter, according to today's announcement.

Upon completion of the transaction, David Marco will continue as a “meaningful investor in the business” and will join Advancing Eyecare as a co-chairman of the newly formed company and help advise the senior management teams. “With this strategic partnership we will be ideally positioned to maximize value for both our customer and employees,” Marco said in the announcement. “It allows for expanded service capability for Marco and greater technology offerings for Lombart. The combined entity enhances and accelerates our unique abilities to modernize and maximize efficiencies of the eyecare platforms.”

Marco, which was founded in 1967 and is based in Jacksonville, Fla., is a market-leading brand and supplier of diagnostic ophthalmic equipment, offering a complete suite of high-quality advanced technical and traditional classic lane products. Marco’s brand is well known for its focus on optimizing the refraction lane, a reputation that has allowed the company to capture some of the largest institutional customers and buying groups in the industry, according to the announcement.

Gordon Siteman, chief executive officer of Lombart, said he believes that Advancing Eyecare, via the partnership of the two eyecare instrumentation companies, will increase the companies’ ability to provide doctors both the service and product offerings that suit their budget and their technology requirements. “When completed, the combined organization will deliver the best solution at the best price for every practice’s needs,” he said.

Bryan Bevin, a senior operating advisor to Atlantic Street Capital’s portfolio companies, will serve as a co-chairman of the Advancing Eyecare board. Both he and Marco will oversee the operating and strategic guidance of all Lombart assets in the medical eyecare marketplace in North America, including Lombart Instrument, Marco Ophthalmic, Enhanced Medical Services, and INNOVA Medical Ophthalmics (Canada & Mexico).

“Since our acquisition of Lombart in 2016, we have steadily built the business through organic growth, as well as expanded into Canada with the acquisition of INNOVA and enhanced our pre-owned ophthalmic business with the acquisition earlier this year of Enhanced Medical Services,” Andy Wilkins, a managing partner of Atlantic Street Capital, said in the announcement. “The addition of Marco is another significant investment to strengthen Lombart’s position as a key partner for its customers, further extending our ability to deliver a breadth of clinical solutions.”

Atlantic Street Capital invests in middle-market companies with between $4 million and $15 million in EBITDA. The firm invests in fundamentally sound companies that will benefit from capital investment and value-adding strategic and operational initiatives, according to the announcement.

Lombart, which is based in Norfolk, Va., is the largest independent, value‐added distributor of ophthalmic instruments to ophthalmologist and optometrist practices in the U.S., according to the announcement. Products offered include chairs, stands, slit lamps, refractors, tonometers, keratometers, eye projectors, perimeters, and replacement bulbs and batteries.