H.I.G. Capital Announces Acquisition of Albertville Quality Foods and Southern Quality Meats

Investment Supports Expansion of National Further Processing Services Provider to the U.S. Foodservice and Restaurant Industries

MIAMI--(BUSINESS WIRE)--H.I.G. Capital, LLC, a leading global private equity investment firm, today announced that an affiliate has acquired Albertville Quality Foods (“AQF”) and Southern Quality Meats (“SQM”). AQF and SQM provide specialized further processing services for protein-based products.

“We are excited about the growth prospects of these businesses and intend to actively support them as they build on their well-deserved reputation”

The companies specialize in poultry and pork based products, and focus on complex, quick turnaround runs that meet the stringent specifications of its restaurant, foodservice and retail customers. Superior product quality, industry expertise, and strong customer partnerships have supported high service levels and the ability to develop products to meet customized specifications. The Alabama facility focuses on outsourced third-party processing, primarily of chicken-based products. The Mississippi plant is a fully-integrated pork sausage processing operation. AQF and SQM have strong manufacturing capabilities, significant infrastructure and a long track record of success, making them a highly attractive platform investment for H.I.G.

H.I.G. teamed with senior management to consummate the transaction. "We are pleased to work with H.I.G. to leverage their experience growing service-oriented businesses," said Don Haynie, Chief Executive Officer of AQF and SQM. "The recapitalization of our companies allows us to continue growing our customer base and expanding our facilities. This investment supports our industry-leading ability to provide specialized and custom products to our customers with the highest level of quality and service.”

"We are excited about the growth prospects of these businesses and intend to actively support them as they build on their well-deserved reputation," said Richard Stokes of H.I.G. Capital. "We have great confidence in the management team as operators, and believe that H.I.G.’s investment will facilitate and expedite our collective goal of making AQF and SQM the top providers of further processing services nationwide."

About Albertville Quality Foods and Southern Quality Meats

Albertville Quality Foods, headquartered in Albertville, AL, and SQM, headquartered in Pontotoc, MS, have provided further processing services for foodservice, restaurant and retail customers since 1962. Products such as breaded chicken tenders, boneless wings, sausage patties, and many others, are custom produced for hundreds of customers at two state of the art facilities. For more information, please refer to the AQF website at www.albertvillequalityfoods.com.

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 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.higcapital.com.