H.I.G. Capital has acquired BIC Graphic North America and its affiliated Asia sourcing operations from Société BIC SA.
BIC Graphic is one of the largest suppliers in the promotional products industry, specializing in customized writing instruments, hard goods and calendars. The company has tens of thousands of distributor customers and annual revenues of approximately $300 million. BIC Graphic operates three manufacturing facilities across the United States and has product sourcing operations in Hong Kong and mainland China. The company was founded in 1969 and is headquartered in Clearwater, FL (www.bicgraphic.com).
Société BIC SA – more commonly known as BIC – is a maker of disposable consumer products such as lighters, razors, mechanical pencils, and printed paper products. The company was founded in 1945 and is headquartered near Paris in Clichy, France (www.bicworld.com).
BIC Graphic will be the third investment in the promotional products industry for H.I.G. “H.I.G. is the ideal partner for us given the firm’s deep industry experience and historical success investing in our sector,” said Emmanuel Bruno, BIC Graphic’s President. “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 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.”
H.I.G. specializes in providing capital to small and medium-sized companies and invests in management-led buyouts and recapitalizations of manufacturing or service businesses. H.I.G. has more than $20 billion of capital under management. The firm was founded in 1993 and is based in Miami with additional offices in New York, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Atlanta, London, Hamburg, Madrid, Milan, Paris, Bogotá, Mexico City and Rio de Janeiro (www.higcapital.com).
© 2017 Private Equity Professional | July 10, 2017
