Brightstar Capital Partners, a private equity firm focused on partnering with families, founders, entrepreneurs and management teams, has acquired a majority stake in Engineering Research and Consulting Inc., in partnership with the company’s owner and senior management team. Terms of the private transaction were not disclosed.

Headquartered in Huntsville, AL, ERC is a provider of mission critical engineering and consulting services to the US Department of Defense, NASA and other high-tech governmental entities.

“We are impressed with ERC’s capabilities and culture and see enormous potential for growth in the dynamic and fragmented government services and technology industry,” said Michael Singer, a managing director at Brightstar. “Through accelerated investment in operational capabilities, as well as a focus on strategic acquisitions, we are confident that Ernie and the talented team at ERC will continue to provide best-in-class capabilities and services.”

“As we got to know the Brightstar team, it quickly became clear that they share our values and care deeply about our team and the culture we’ve created,” said Ernie Wu, board chair and CEO of ERC. “We will rely on their operational experience and capital resources as we begin a new and exciting chapter in our Company’s history.”

“We look forward to enhancing ERC’s already proven ability to deliver mission critical systems engineering and technical assistance services,” said Reidar Brekke, a partner at Brightstar. “Our team has a great deal of relevant expertise with high-tech and government services businesses and is proud to be partnering with a business founded by a groundbreaking pioneer like Dr. Susan Wu.”