H.I.G. Capital Expands into Latin America with Rio de Janeiro Office
RIO DE JANEIRO & MIAMI – February 1, 2012 – H.I.G. Capital, a leading global private equity firm with more than $8.5 billion of equity capital under management, announced today that it has opened an office in Rio de Janeiro, and appointed Fernando Marques Oliveira as a Managing Director to lead its Brazil and Latin America team.
Prior to joining H.I.G., Mr. Marques Oliveira was Managing Director and head of the Latin America team at General Atlantic (“GA”), where he was involved in a number of transactions including Qualicorp and Peixe Urbano. Before GA, Mr. Oliveira spent many years at Grupo Icatu, where he led a number of successful investments, including Mabel, Aracruz and Grupo ABC.
In commenting on his appointment, Mr. Marques Oliveira stated, “I am looking forward to joining the H.I.G. team. H.I.G. has a terrific track record of investing in small and mid size businesses all over the world and using its in-house operational and strategic know-how to drive meaningful value creation. What also attracted me to H.I.G. is the high level of flexibility the firm has in structuring investments, allowing it to invest in many different sectors, through either debt or equity, and taking either a minority or majority position. This flexible approach fits very well in the vibrant developing economy of Brazil.”
Sami Mnaymneh, co-founder and Managing Partner at H.I.G., added, “I am pleased to welcome Fernando to the firm. He is a proven investor with long standing experience in the Brazilian market. Under his leadership, we are committed to building a strong team in Brazil, focused on long term success. Brazil’s economy has a very bright future, thanks to its large population – including a rapidly growing middle class – and its abundant natural resources. We look forward to being part of it by targeting a segment of the market which has been mostly overlooked by international investors.”
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, and a team of more than 225 investment professionals. Based in Miami, and with offices in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, New York, and San Francisco in the U.S., as well as affiliate offices in London, Hamburg, Madrid, 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. Since its founding in 1993, H.I.G. has 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.