Palo Alto, CA – Feb. 28, 2011 – Fibercore, Ltd., a UK based global market leader in the design and manufacture of specialty optical fibers, has announced its acquisition by H.I.G. Europe, the European arm of global private equity firm H.I.G. Capital. Fibercore provides a wide variety of specialty optical fiber products for use globally in aerospace, defense, and telecommunications applications. Fibercore has a strong specialist manufacturing heritage providing products that are vital to navigation and stabilization systems used on long-haul airliners, business jets, helicopters, satellites, and space exploration vehicles. Power amplifiers providing high-speed, internet video and data transfer also use Fibercore’s specialty optical fiber as a critical component.
H.I.G. Europe worked with Fibercore management to complete the transaction and will work closely together to implement H.I.G.’s strategy to continue to grow a phenomenally successful business and global innovator in the field of specialty fibers. Fibercore’s strong market position and long-standing customer relationships create the ideal foundations to build its future development. They plan to increase their geographic penetration and expansion into other related and developing markets through continued global leadership through product innovation and high-quality service delivery, helping.
“We are very pleased to announce our investment in Fibercore and our backing of Chris Emslie and his team in the management buyout from Cisco. The business is a global industry leader in this highly specialized field, its reputation achieved through a combination of strong blue-chip customer relationships and a wealth of scarce in-house manufacturing and development expertise. Fibercore is a genuine UK export success story, and we look forward to supporting the business in its continued international expansion.” – Matthias Allgaier, Managing Director, H.I.G. Europe
“With H.I.G. Europe, Fibercore has found an investor with deep financial resources and global reach. We have been impressed with the H.I.G. team, their dynamism and approach and welcome them as partners for the next stage in Fibercore’s expansion.” – Chris Emslie, CEO, Fibercore Ltd.
Woodside Capital Partners served as the exclusive financial advisor to Fibercore, Ltd. in this transaction.
About Fibercore, Ltd.
Founded 28 years ago, Fibercore is a leading innovator, designer and manufacturer of specialty fiber serving more than 200 customers across the world. Products include specialty fiber for the Aerospace, Defense, and Telecommunications industries – the business is a global market leader. The Company’s operations are headquartered in Fibercore House, a custom-built Southampton based facility. Fibercore has 4 Queen’s Awards for Enterprise www.fibercore.com.
About H.I.G. Capital
H.I.G. Capital is a leading global private equity investment firm with more than GBP 6 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 GBP 5 billion. For more information, please refer to the H.I.G. website at www.higcapital.com.
About Woodside Capital Partners
Woodside Capital Partners is a global, independent investment bank that delivers world-class strategic and financial advice to emerging growth companies in the technology and life sciences sectors. With a strong track record in M&A, strategic partnerships and private placements, Woodside Capital Partners has been providing worldwide investment banking services since 2001, with leading domain experience in software, Internet services, electronic communications and materials, and healthcare. Woodside Capital Partners is headquartered in Silicon Valley, with an office in London. Securities offered through Woodside Capital Securities LLC, member FINRA/SIPC. For more information, please visit www.woodsidecap.com.