As first reported last week in PPB Newslink, BIC Graphic North America (PPAI 114187) announced that its parent company, BIC Group, had entered into an agreement with private equity firm H.I.G. Capital to sell its North American promotional products division. The closing is expected by June 30.
PPB Newslink recently spoke with Emmanuel Bruno, vice president/general manager of BIC Graphic North America, on the company’s future and what distributors and the promotional products industry can expect from the transaction. Bruno notes, “H.I.G. Capital acquired us as a complete unit; all three sites in the U.S. and our Asian sourcing group—nothing changes for our customers. We will continue to sell the BIC® brand just as we do our other partner brands so that we can continue to offer the line to our customers. And for the time being, we will continue to operate under the BIC Graphic name.”
H.I.G. Capital is a global private equity investment firm with $21 billion of equity capital under management, and since its founding in 1993, has invested in more than 200 companies worldwide. Bruno says, “Over the past several months, we have spent time with the H.I.G. Capital team and we are excited about partnering with them for the next stage of our growth. We believe that they are the right partner to support our strategy and invest in our future.”
H.I.G Capital’s ownership is also expected to provide a fertile environment for new growth and developments for BIC Graphic. “H.I.G. is a great partner for us,” says Bruno. “Not only do they have experience in the industry, but they understand and support our vision for the company. We will continue to work on the initiatives and projects that we have started; we might even accelerate some of the initiatives with the purpose of extending our business and developing our growth.”
He adds, “We will continue our ongoing commitment to safety and compliance, offering our distributor partners and their customers peace of mind. We are dedicated to new product development and R&D with regards to improved manufacturing capabilities and printing technologies. H.I.G. also supports our planned investments in customer interaction and integration—making it even easier to do business with us. We will continue to evolve our business according to our distributors’ needs to be a truly valued partner that you can rely on. These are areas of focus for the remainder of 2017 through 2018.”
