Harris Williams & Co. announced the sale of Help/Systems Holdco, LLC, a independent provider of data center automation, business intelligence, and security software solutions, to Summit Partners. Help/Systems was a portfolio company of Audax Group.

Audax, together with management, acquired Help/Systems in September 2007 and subsequently sourced and integrated five add-on acquisitions, introduced three new product lines, and grew the company through international expansion.

The transaction closed on April 17, 2012. Harris Williams & Co. acted as the exclusive advisor to Help/Systems. The transaction was led by Jeff Bistrong, Thierry Monjauze, Derek Swaim, Tyler Dewing and Brian Wirtz from the firm’s Technology, Media & Telecom (TMT) Group, along with Chris Williams from the firm’s Richmond office.

“It was highly rewarding to work with Janet Dryer and the rest of the management team as they simultaneously drove stellar financial performance and expanded the company’s solutions beyond IBM i and into Unix, Linux and Windows,” said Jeff Bistrong, a managing director in Harris Williams & Co.’s TMT Group. “Summit is a partner well suited to support their ongoing organic and acquisition-driven growth.”

Founded in 1982, Help/Systems provides automated operations, security and business intelligence software solutions for its worldwide base of over 5,100 customers. The company delivers products and services that help address powerful IT growth trends including an increased focus on automating IT management, virtualization, the rapid growth of data that requires processing and analyzing, and the increased need for security and network management.

Summit Partners is a growth equity firm that invests in rapidly growing companies.

Audax is a investor in lower-middle market companies.

Harris Williams & Co. is a middle-market investment bank focused on the advisory needs of clients worldwide.