H.I.G. Capital Makes a Strategic Investment in Barnet Dulaney Perkins and Southwestern Eye Center

SAN FRANCISCO–(BUSINESS WIRE)– H.I.G. Capital (“H.I.G.”), a leading global private equity investment firm with $21 billion of equity capital under management, is pleased to announce that one of its affiliates has made a strategic investment in Barnet Dulaney Perkins (“BDP”) and Southwestern Eye Center (“Southwestern”), two leading eye care practices.

For over 30 years BDP and Southwestern have been leaders in providing best-in-class surgical and clinical ophthalmic care to patients in the Phoenix metro area and throughout Arizona, including a strong commitment to providing care in underserved rural areas. With over 40 locations throughout Arizona and New Mexico, BDP and Southwestern offer a full range of ophthalmic care including treatments for cataracts, glaucoma, and retinal disorders as well as vision correction and oculoplastics.

“We are very pleased to be partnering with the doctors, employees, shareholders and management teams of BDP and Southwestern. Both practices have been leaders in their market and have a tremendous reputation for high quality patient care,” said Rob Wolfson, Managing Director at H.I.G. Capital. “We plan to leverage the companies’ unique scale and best practices to continue to provide excellent clinical care, which is the foundation for sustained growth in Arizona and throughout the Southwest.”

Mark Rosenberg, who has been the Chief Executive Officer of BDP, will lead the companies’ day-to-day operations. Dr. Lothaire Bluth, the founder of Southwestern, will become the Chairman of the Board.

“With the evolving healthcare landscape, it is important that independent providers work together to share resources and best practices. We are excited to partner with H.I.G. and BDP to continue to deliver great patient care and career opportunities for all of our employees,” said Dr. Bluth.

“The entire BDP team is looking forward to the partnership with H.I.G. and Southwestern. BDP and Southwestern have been friendly competitors for years and share similar cultural values. We are looking forward to working together to better serve our patients throughout Arizona,” said Mark Rosenberg, CEO of Barnet Dulaney Perkins.

About Barnet Dulaney Perkins and Southwestern Eye Center

Headquartered in Phoenix, AZ and Mesa, AZ, Barnet Dulaney Perkins and Southwestern Eye Center are the leading eye care practices in Arizona offering a full range of clinical and surgical eye care. For over 30 years, the practices have been providing care to urban and underserved rural communities throughout the Southwest.

About H.I.G. Capital

H.I.G. is a leading global private equity and alternative assets investment firm with $21 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, Mexico City 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.

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

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170417005124/en/

H.I.G. Capital

Rob Wolfson
Managing Director

rwolfson@higcapital.com

or

Kevin Van Culin
Principal

kvanculin@higcapital.com

or

Andrey Vakhovskiy
Principal

avakhovskiy@higcapital.com

415-439-5500

Source: H.I.G. Capital