H.I.G. Capital Completes Sale of Vantage Specialty Chemicals

MIAMI--(BUSINESS WIRE)--H.I.G. Capital, L.L.C. (“H.I.G.”), a leading global private equity investment firm, today announced the sale of Vantage Specialty Chemicals ("Vantage" or the “Company”) to The Jordan Company, a private equity firm with offices in New York, NY, Chicago, IL and Shanghai.

“We have been very fortunate to be able to partner with the executive team at Vantage. They have successfully executed on a number of strategic initiatives and significantly grown the business organically, positioning the Company very well for the future”

Vantage, headquartered in Chicago, IL, is a uniquely positioned specialty chemicals company focused on naturally derived ingredients for a diverse and growing set of global end markets including personal care, consumer products, industrial and food markets. Vantage converts renewable animal- and vegetable-based raw materials into products that are widely used in a range of specialized applications due to their performance benefits and environmental characteristics. Vantage was formed by H.I.G. in May 2008 through the acquisition of Croda International’s U.S. oleochemical business (f/k/a Uniqema Americas). Vantage then acquired Lambent Technologies in October 2008 and Lipo Chemicals in July 2010, forming a vertically integrated, natural specialty chemical provider. Today, Vantage maintains a global presence in 13 countries with revenues in excess of $500 million annually.

“H.I.G. has been a tremendous partner to Vantage and has been instrumental in helping us establish and execute our growth strategy,” said Julian Steinberg, Chief Executive Officer of Vantage. “In the last three and a half years, we’ve made two sizeable acquisitions, expanded our global reach, invested in new technologies, and made sizeable capital investments to increase capacity at both of our manufacturing facilities.”

“We have been very fortunate to be able to partner with the executive team at Vantage. They have successfully executed on a number of strategic initiatives and significantly grown the business organically, positioning the Company very well for the future,” commented Rick Rosen, an Executive Managing Director of H.I.G. Capital. “Vantage has been an extremely successful investment for us and our investors. We look forward to watching the Company’s continued success in the future.”

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 service or manufacturing businesses. H.I.G. also has extensive experience with financial restructurings and operational turnarounds. Since its founding in 1993, H.I.G. has invested in and managed more than 200 companies worldwide. For more information, please refer to the H.I.G. website at www.higcapital.com.

About The Jordan Company

The Jordan Company, founded in 1982, is a leading middle-market private equity firm with approximately $6 billion of capital under management and a successful track record of investing in and growing businesses across a wide range of industries. The firm’s partners have been investing together for more than two decades, establishing The Jordan Company as one of the most experienced and stable investment teams in private equity. The investment team is supported by the firm’s Operations Management Group, which initiates and supports operational improvements in portfolio companies. The firm generates deal flow through a well-developed network of sourcing relationships. Headquartered in New York, The Jordan Company also has offices in Chicago and Shanghai. For more information, please refer to our website: www.thejordancompany.com.