H.I.G. Capital Completes Investment in Mr. Cat

December 18, 2015 | By Business Wire News

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil

H.I.G. Capital (“H.I.G.”), a leading global private equity investment firm with $19 billion of equity capital under management, announced today that it has completed a strategic investment in Mr. Cat (“Mr. Cat” or the “Company”), a leading Brazilian footwear company headquartered in Rio de Janeiro.

Present in 26 Brazilian states through more than 200 dedicated stores, Mr. Cat offers a complete footwear portfolio for men and women, as well as accessories under the nationally recognized Mr. Cat brand. The investment will support the company’s aggressive expansion plan through dedicated stores, other sales channels and international expansion.

“We are very excited to have H.I.G. as a partner. Their ability and experience in helping companies grow will be of great value to Mr. Cat. With H.I.G.’s support, we will accelerate the opening of new stores and distribute our products through new sales channels, reaching more customers countrywide. We are confident that by maintaining our focus on our quality and comfort standards, attention to our franchisees, employees and customers, Mr. Cat will continue to grow on its solid foundations,” commented Ari Svartsnaider, founder of Mr. Cat. Current shareholders will remain shareholders after H.I.G.’s investment.

Fernando Marques Oliveira, Managing Director and Head of H.I.G. Brazil and H.I.G. Latin America, said: “We are very pleased to have the opportunity to help Mr. Cat’s management team continue this tremendous success story. We are very excited with the ability of Mr. Cat to continue its expansion plan despite the current difficult macroeconomic environment.”

About Mr. Cat

Founded in 1980 by Ari Svartsnaider and Alberto Zyngier and headquartered in Rio de Janeiro, Mr. Cat is a leading footwear company. Mr. Cat offers a complete line of men’s and women’s shoes, as well as accessories under the nationally recognized Mr. Cat brand. The Company operates through a network of more than 200 dedicated stores, both corporate and franchisee owned. For more information, visit http://www.mrcat.com.br.

About H.I.G. Capital

H.I.G. is a leading global private equity and alternative assets investment firm with $19 billion of equity capital under management.* Based in Miami, and with offices in New York, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, San Francisco and Atlanta in the U.S., as well as international affiliate offices in London, Hamburg, Madrid, Milan, Paris and Rio de Janeiro, H.I.G. specializes in providing both debt and equity capital to small and mid-sized companies, utilizing a flexible and operationally focused/ value-added approach:

1) H.I.G.’s equity funds invest in management buyouts, recapitalizations and corporate carve-outs of both profitable as well as underperforming manufacturing and service businesses.

2) H.I.G.’s debt funds invest in senior, unitranche and junior debt financing to companies across the size spectrum, both on a primary (direct origination) basis, as well as on the secondary markets. H.I.G. is also a leading CLO manager, through its WhiteHorse family of vehicles, and manages a publicly traded BDC, WhiteHorse Finance.

3) Other H.I.G. funds invest in various real assets, including real estate and shipping.

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 80 companies with combined sales in excess of $30 billion. For more information, please refer to the H.I.G. website at www.higcapital.com.

* Based on total capital commitments to funds managed by H.I.G. Capital and its affiliates.