May 5, 2022   SOURCE: BusinessWire

The Bluebird Group, an H.I.G. Capital Portfolio Company, Completes Acquisition of 479 Sales & Marketing

H.I.G. Capital ("H.I.G."), a leading global alternative investment firm with over $48 billion of equity capital under management, is pleased to announce that its portfolio company, The Bluebird Group (“Bluebird”), has acquired 479 Sales & Marketing, LLC (“479”), a Bentonville, Arkansas-based, full-service retail services consulting firm.

With almost two decades of experience, 479 provides leading brands with the strategic planning, operations consulting, account management, digital optimization, and data analytics services necessary to succeed at Walmart, Walmart.com and Sam's Club.

Jason Kapsner, CEO of Bluebird, said, "With 479, we have found a partner that shares our priorities of being analytically forward-thinking and trusted stewards of our brand and retail partners. We look forward to being able to provide our clients with a broader service offering that taps into 479’s Walmart expertise."

John Crimmins, CEO of 479, and Tyler Darnall, Partner at 479, noted "This partnership unlocks numerous opportunities for our retail and brand partners that value data and execution. Together, our tools will peel back even more layers of data to unearth consumer trends that will give our clients an edge in the marketplace."

Andrey Vakhovskiy, Managing Director at H.I.G., commented, “Bluebird’s goal is to be the trusted advisor with unique data insights and recommendations across the most important sales channels in which brands engage. We believe the combination with 479 continues to strengthen and evolve Bluebird’s service offering.”

About The Bluebird Group

The Bluebird Group is a retail services and consulting firm serving some of the world’s most innovative and beloved brands. Headquartered in Minneapolis, MN, Bluebird provides strategic planning, operations consulting, account management, digital optimization, and data analytics necessary for brands to execute and to optimize sales.

About H.I.G. Capital

H.I.G. is a leading global alternative assets investment firm with over $48 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, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, 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.
  4. H.I.G. Infrastructure focuses on making value-add and core plus investments in the infrastructure sector.

Since its founding in 1993, H.I.G. has invested in and managed more than 300 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.