H.I.G. Capital’s portfolio company Lexmark Carpet Mills has completed the acquisition of Northwest Carpet.
Northwest Carpets is a manufacturer of solution-dyed, broadloom carpet focused exclusively on the hospitality end-market. The company was founded in 1977 by Randy Coker and his father, Edward Coker and is headquartered south of Chattanooga, TN in Dalton, GA (www.northwestcarpets.net).
Lexmark, acquired by H.I.G. Capital in September 2013, is a manufacturer of broadloom carpet for hospitality, residential and niche commercial applications. Lexmark was founded in 1993 and is based in Dalton, GA (www.lexmarkcarpet.com).
It is no co-incidence that both companies are based in Dalton, GA as the city is often referred to as the “Carpet Capital of the World,” and is home to more than 150 carpet plants. More than 90% of the carpet produced in the world today is made within a 65-mile radius of the city.
According to Todd White, CEO of Lexmark, the acquisition of Northwest makes a lot of sense. “Northwest represents an attractive acquisition as we continue to grow our business. There are significant synergies and opportunities to enhance our design and service capabilities for our customers.”
“Northwest and Lexmark are highly complementary businesses. Northwest has a long track record of producing high quality, design-focused broadloom carpet targeted exclusively at the hospitality market. We are pleased to support the team in their growth and continued success,” said Ricky Stokes, Managing Director of H.I.G. Capital.
H.I.G. Capital specializes in providing capital to small and medium-sized companies and invests in management-led buyouts and recapitalizations of manufacturing or service businesses. The firm’s current portfolio includes more than 100 companies with combined sales in excess of $30 billion. H.I.G. has more than $17 billion of capital under management. The firm was founded in 1993 and is based in Miami with additional offices in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, New York, San Francisco, London, Hamburg, Madrid, Milan, Paris, and Rio de Janeiro (www.higcapital.com).
© 2015 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 7-1-15