H.I.G. Capital Acquires BIC Graphic Business Units From Société BIC

H.I.G. Capital (“H.I.G.”), a leading global private equity investment firm with over $21 billion of equity capital under management, is pleased to announce that one of its affiliates has acquired BIC Graphic North America and the affiliated Asia sourcing operations (“BIC Graphic” or the “Company”) from Société BIC S.A. (“BIC”) (EPA:BB).

Founded in 1969 and headquartered in Clearwater, Florida, BIC Graphic, with sales over $300 million, is one of the largest suppliers in the promotional products industry, specializing in customized writing instruments, hard goods and calendars. BIC Graphic’s quality, innovation, and service are highly regarded by tens of thousands of distributor customers. The Company operates three manufacturing facilities across the United States plus a highly strategic product sourcing operation in Hong Kong and mainland China.

Emmanuel Bruno, BIC Graphic’s President, stated, “H.I.G. is the ideal partner for us given the firm’s deep industry experience and historical success investing in our sector. We are well positioned to broaden and deepen our customer relationships with additional investments in service, product development and R&D to further enhance our manufacturing and printing capabilities, while continuing to provide unparalleled quality and service to our customers. We will build on our successful history and be more nimble and responsive as a standalone entity.”

“We are very excited to partner with the BIC Graphic team,” said Camilo E. Horvilleur, Managing Director at H.I.G. “BIC Graphic is a clear leader in a consolidating market due to its compelling customer value proposition. To accelerate growth, we will further pursue innovative product development, and expand upon the Company's operational excellence and technology leadership. We see substantial opportunities to grow organically and through M&A.”

BIC Graphic will be the third investment in the promotional products industry for H.I.G.

About H.I.G. Capital

H.I.G. is a leading global private equity and alternative assets investment firm with over $21 billion of equity capital under management.* Based in Miami, and with offices in New York, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Atlanta in the U.S., as well as international affiliate offices in London, Hamburg, Madrid, Milan, Paris, Bogotá, Mexico City and Rio de Janeiro, H.I.G. specializes in providing both debt and equity capital to small and mid-sized companies, utilizing a flexible and operationally focused/ value-added approach:

1. H.I.G.’s equity funds invest in management buyouts, recapitalizations and corporate carve-outs of both profitable as well as underperforming manufacturing and service businesses.

2. H.I.G.’s debt funds invest in senior, unitranche and junior debt financing to companies across the size spectrum, both on a primary (direct origination) basis, as well as in the secondary markets. H.I.G. is also a leading CLO manager, through its WhiteHorse family of vehicles, and manages a publicly traded BDC, WhiteHorse Finance.

3. H.I.G.’s real estate funds invest in value-added properties, which can benefit from improved asset management practices.

Since its founding in 1993, H.I.G. has invested in and managed more than 200 companies worldwide. The firm's current portfolio includes more than 100 companies with combined sales in excess of $30 billion. For more information, please refer to the H.I.G. website at www.higcapital.com.

* Based on total capital commitments managed by H.I.G. Capital and affiliates.