H.I.G. Capital Acquires Pro-Pet
BOSTON – January 6, 2011 – H.I.G. Capital, LLC, a leading global private equity investment firm, today announced that its affiliate has acquired a majority interest in Pro-Pet, LLC (“Pro-Pet” or the “Company”). Pro-Pet specializes in the manufacturing of premium and super-premium, private label dry pet food for distribution domestically and around the world. The Company maintains relationships with numerous leading retailers that are interested in a high quality, secure source for private label pet food. Pro-Pet is based in St. Marys, Ohio, and has operating facilities strategically located in St. Marys; Kansas City, Kansas; and Owatonna, Minnesota.
H.I.G. teamed with the senior management, led by Pro-Pet’s President and Chief Executive Officer, Mike Wright, to consummate the recapitalization. Land O’ Lakes, an owner of Pro-Pet since its inception, will maintain a minority position in the Company alongside H.I.G. and senior management.
“We are very pleased with H.I.G.’s support of our business and will benefit from their commitment to support our strategic initiatives,” said Mike Wright. “With H.I.G.’s backing and expertise, we will be well positioned to take advantage of growth opportunities and to better serve our customers in the private label pet food market.”
Peter Cornetta, a Managing Director at H.I.G. commented, “We are very excited to team with the senior management team of Pro-Pet in making this investment. The Company has demonstrated its leadership position as a high quality producer of private label pet food for almost 15 years. We look forward to assisting the management team in continuing to grow Pro-Pet’s product breadth and geographic reach while maintaining its superior service and product offering.”
Land O’ Lakes, an owner and a significant driver of Pro-Pet’s growth to date, will maintain an equity position in the business. Richard Sundal, a Land O’ Lakes representative, commented that “Land O’ Lakes’ continued ownership stake in Pro-Pet is a reflection of the confidence we have in the employees and leadership team. We look forward to the continued success of Pro-Pet and furthering our relationship as an owner and customer.”
About Pro-Pet, LLC
Pro-Pet, headquartered in St. Marys, OH, has manufactured private label dry dog and cat food since 1996. The Company’s manufacturing sites are located in the heart of the farming community where raw materials are produced. The locations allow the Company to build long-term relationships with local producers ensuring only the highest quality, freshest ingredients go into the production of Pro-Pet’s foods. For more information, please refer to the Pro-Pet website at http://www.propet.com/.
About H.I.G. Capital
H.I.G. Capital is a leading global private equity investment firm with more than $8.5 billion of equity capital under management. Based in Miami, and with offices in Atlanta, Boston, New York, and San Francisco in the U.S., as well as affiliate offices in London, Hamburg and Paris in Europe, H.I.G. specializes in providing capital to small and medium-sized companies with attractive growth potential. H.I.G. invests in management-led buyouts and recapitalizations of profitable and well managed manufacturing or service businesses. H.I.G. also has extensive experience with financial restructurings and operational turnarounds. Since its founding in 1993, H.I.G. invested in and managed more than 200 companies worldwide. The firm’s current portfolio includes more than 50 companies with combined revenues in excess of $8 billion. For more information, please refer to the H.I.G. website at www.hig.com.