H.I.G. launches new office in Columbia

H.I.G. Capital has opened an office in Bogota, Columbia. Andrés Marulanda, who previously held senior roles at Advent International and Mercantil Colpatria, is leading the operations. H.I.G. currently has an office in Brazil, which opened in 2012.

PRESS RELEASE

BOGOTÁ, Colombia & MIAMI–(BUSINESS WIRE)–H.I.G. Capital (“H.I.G.”), a leading global private equity and alternative asset investment firm with more than $20 billion of equity capital under management, today announced the launch of its operations in Colombia.

Founded in 1993, H.I.G. focuses on private equity investments in small and mid-sized companies where it can play a significant role in helping to unlock potential value by supporting the companies’ operations. H.I.G. is already active in Latin America, having established operations in Brazil since 2012, and raising a dedicated $740 million Latin America fund in 2015.

H.I.G.’s Colombia office is based in Bogotá and is led by Andrés Marulanda. Marulanda has over nine years of experience in the Colombian Private Equity market, and has held senior positions at Advent International and Mercantil Colpatria. He also has experience in strategy consulting at global firms such as McKinsey and Booz Allen Hamilton. He holds a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering from the Universidad de los Andes and an M.B.A. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Regarding his new position, Andrés Marulanda commented, “I am delighted to be leading H.I.G.’s efforts in Colombia. The opening of the Bogotá office is a reflection of H.I.G.’s commitment to Colombia. We see a great opportunity to apply H.I.G.’s considerable resources, expertise, and global network to the local market and be the preferred partner to leading entrepreneurs and business owners in Colombia.”

Fernando Marques Oliveira, Head of H.I.G. Latin America said, “We are excited to welcome Andres to the team. With his local expertise and knowledge, we are confident H.I.G. will further strengthen its position as the leading investor in the small and mid-cap segment of the market in Latin America, which is generally overlooked by most international investors. Colombia is a highly stable and attractive market with an increasingly sophisticated business community, and represents an important part of our strategy in the region.”

About H.I.G. Capital
H.I.G. is a leading global private equity and alternative assets investment firm with over $20 billion of equity capital under management.* Based in Miami, and with offices in New York, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Atlanta in the U.S., as well as international affiliate offices in London, Hamburg, Madrid, Milan, Paris, Bogotá 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 in 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. H.I.G.’s real estate funds invest in value-added properties, which can benefit from improved asset management practices.

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