H.I.G. Capital Announces Recapitalization of NARS

MIAMI – December 2, 2009 – H.I.G. Capital, a leading global private equity firm, has announced that one of its affiliates has completed a significant investment in National Asset Recovery Services (“NARS”). Headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, NARS is an industry leading provider of Accounts Receivable Management (“ARM”) and Business Process Outsourcing (“BPO”) services. NARS announced the recapitalization by an affiliate of H.I.G. Capital, in conjunction with the Reprise Management Group, to its employees and customers on its website: www.narsnet.com/reprise.

NARS is a leading ARM/BPO provider in the “nearshore” markets of Central America and the Caribbean with flagship operations in Panama City, Panama and Montego Bay, Jamaica, as well as domestic sites in St. Louis and Cape Girardeau, Missouri. NARS services some of the leading Fortune 500 companies across a variety of industries including telecommunications, financial services, automotive credit and consumer products. NARS employs over 3,000 service professionals, and last year was named by Inc. magazine as one of the fastest growing companies in St. Louis.

H.I.G. Capital and Tim Bauer formed Reprise Management Group (“Reprise”) in April 2009 for the specific purpose of making strategic investments in premier ARM companies. NARS is Reprise’s first acquisition and will be a platform on which its first-party ARM services growth will occur. H.I.G. Capital Managing Director Jeff Zanarini commented, “We are excited to invest in NARS, an organization that has a proven ability to provide the highest level of service to its clients’ most demanding requirements. We are also pleased to be joining forces with Tim Bauer, a 25-year veteran and one of the most respected executives in the ARM industry. Tim was instrumental in identifying the strength of the NARS operations and management team, and we are enthusiastic about the company’s prospects.”

Tim Bauer commented, “NARS is the first piece of the Reprise puzzle. NARS CEO Chris Buehrle and his team have built an exceptional business. Its on-shore / near-shore strategy is timely and efficient, and NARS is uniquely poised for additional growth.”

Zanarini commented on H.I.G.’s previous industry experience. “H.I.G. has had great success with its portfolio companies specializing in the ARM/BPO space. We view NARS as an excellent platform, and are looking to augment NARS’ impressive organic growth through strategic add-on acquisitions, having already commenced discussions regarding several key opportunities.”

Christopher H. Buehrle, President and CEO of NARS commented, “We’re looking forward to working with H.I.G. and Reprise. This team offers NARS a unique combination of financial strength and sector expertise. This investment allows NARS to continue to provide our client partners with exceptional service, deepen our service offerings, and continue fueling our strong year-over-year growth.” All of NARS’ existing management will remain with the company. Buehrle added, “This is a great milestone in the history of NARS and our customers, suppliers and employees should look forward to continued growth and excellence from our organization.”

Greenberg Advisors represented H.I.G. Capital and Reprise in this transaction.

About H.I.G. Capital
H.I.G. Capital is a leading global private equity investment firm with more than $7.5 billion of equity capital under management. Based in Miami, and with offices in San Francisco, Atlanta, Boston, and New York 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 service or manufacturing businesses. H.I.G. also has extensive experience with financial restructurings and operational turnarounds. Since its founding, H.I.G. has invested in and managed more than 200 companies worldwide. The firm’s current portfolio includes companies with combined revenues in excess of $7 billion. For more information, please refer to the H.I.G. website at www.hig.com.

About Reprise Management Group
Reprise Management Group was formed in April 2009 through a partnership with H.I.G. Capital and Tim Bauer, a 25-year veteran in the ARM sector. Reprise was formed for the specific purpose of acquiring premier ARM service providers and then growing the businesses through a combination of acquisitions and organic growth.

About National Asset Recovery Services
NARS is a leading ARM / BPO firm founded in 1993 by Christopher H. Buehrle and is one of the largest private ARM / BPO companies in the U.S. Headquartered in St. Louis, NARS employs more than 3,000 people at call centers in St. Louis and Cape Girardeau, Missouri; Panama City, Panama and Montego Bay, Jamaica. The company’s on-shore / near-shore business model provides BPO services, first-party, early stage collection services and third-party recovery collections to some of the largest and most recognizable companies in the U.S.

A video regarding this announcement can be found at www.narsnet.com/reprise
For more information, please refer to the NARS website at www.narsnet.com.