MIAMI--(BUSINESS WIRE)--H.I.G. Capital (“H.I.G.”), a leading global private equity investment firm with more than $10 billion of equity capital under management, announced today the sale of Safe-Guard Products International, LLC (“Safe-Guard” or the “Company”) to an affiliate of Goldman Sachs, a global investment banking, securities and investment management firm.
Based in Atlanta, Georgia, Safe-Guard is a leading provider of finance and insurance (F&I) products to the automotive industry.
“H.I.G. has been a tremendous partner to Safe-Guard and has been instrumental in helping us develop and execute our growth strategy,” said Randy Barkowitz, Chief Executive Officer of Safe-Guard. “Over the last five years, we’ve invested in our team, our infrastructure and our program offerings, and Safe-Guard is now the clear ancillary F&I industry leader.”
“Safe-Guard was started as a small business with big aspirations,” said Doug Duncan, Founder and Retiring Chairman of Safe-Guard. “I am very proud of the value that we have been delivering for our customers for over 20 years and the growth and market leadership that we have achieved. Since the 2007 recap, H.I.G. has been a fantastic partner and has always delivered as promised.”
“We applaud Doug Duncan’s entrepreneurial vision as the Founder of Safe-Guard and his strategic insight and guidance as our partner and Safe-Guard’s Chairman over the course of our ownership,” commented Bret Wiener, a Managing Director of H.I.G. Capital. “Management has successfully executed the strategic initiatives in channel development, program expansion and risk management which formed our investment thesis and enabled the Company to nearly triple annual revenue since our investment. Safe-Guard has been an extremely successful investment for management, H.I.G. and our investors. We look forward to seeing the continued success of the business.”
About H.I.G. Capital
H.I.G. is a leading global private equity investment firm with more than $10 billion of equity capital under management. Based in Miami, and with offices in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, New York, and San Francisco in the U.S., as well as international affiliate offices in London, Hamburg, Madrid, Paris, and Rio de Janeiro, 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 70 companies. For more information, please refer to the H.I.G. website at www.higcapital.com.
About Safe-Guard
Founded in 1992 and based in Atlanta, Safe-Guard is a leading provider of F&I program solutions to the automotive aftermarket industry as well as the RV, marine and motorcycle/power sports segments. The Company develops, markets and administers the highest-quality F&I programs and matches them with unparalleled customer service, advanced technology solutions and industry-leading training. Safe-Guard is a proud partner to more than half the country’s top 500 dealers, the most successful general agents and the largest dealer groups. The Company boasts more private-label OEM programs than all other providers combined.