H.I.G. Capital Announces Sale of ICG Group to SPIE Group

HAMBURG – March 11, 2024 – H.I.G. Capital (“H.I.G.“), a leading global alternative investment firm with $60 billion of capital under management, is pleased to announce that it has signed a definitive agreement to sell its German portfolio company ICG Group (the “company” or “ICG”) to SPIE Group, a European leader in multi-technical services in the areas of energy and communications, listed on the Paris stock exchange (Ticker: SPIE). ICG’s management will remain in place and continue to drive the company’s future development. The transaction is subject to clearance by antitrust authorities.

ICG Group was initially launched in 2021, with H.I.G.’s platform investment in Infratech, which builds complex FTTx networks on behalf of public and private German network operators. ICG subsequently acquired comcross, one of Germany’s leading service providers for mobile telecommunication infrastructure. The mobile communication segment was further developed through ICG’s bolt-on investments in telecommunication solutions providers Schwan and TripleA as well as telecommunication network planner DPE. Today, ICG has more than 700 employees in 16 locations throughout Germany, mainly, as well as in the Netherlands, and Croatia. The company has built more than 15,000 mobile communications sites, deployed more than 15,000 kilometers of fiber-optic lines, and connected more than 100,000 households to the fiber-optic network (“homes passed”). ICG’s revenue quadrupled during H.I.G.’s ownership.

Holger Kleingarn, Managing Director at H.I.G., commented, “We are very pleased to have assembled the ICG Group, uniquely offering customers a single point of contact for the entire value chain of digital infrastructure services. Our engagement in ICG underlines H.I.G.’s expertise in identifying strong platforms in key future industries and sustainably expanding them via organic growth and selected acquisitions. We have established ICG Group as the leading enabler of next-generation infrastructures and turnkey network solutions in Germany and beyond. We thank the management team of Vladimir Suznjevic and Gregor Klaßen for the highly trustful and successful partnership and wish them continued success for the next phase of ICG Group’s development.”

Vladimir Suznjevic, Managing Director of ICG Group and responsible for the mobile communication business, commented, “Technologies such as Industry 4.0, autonomous driving, and artificial intelligence require a significant expansion of digital infrastructure in Germany and Europe. In addition, while the 5G mobile communication standard is currently being rolled out, 6G is already in development. In order to best drive the European digitization, a technical integration of mobile communications and fiber-optic infrastructure is key. At ICG, with the support of H.I.G. and now SPIE, we are ideally positioned to continue meeting this requirement for the benefit of our trusted customers.”

Gregor Klaßen, Managing Director of Infratech and responsible for its fiber-optic business, commented, “Germany will catch up to the industrialized countries in fiber optic roll-out over the next decade, resulting in an ongoing high demand for experienced and reliable service providers in the areas of fiber optic planning, civil engineering, and installation. We have trusted relationships with our public-sector and corporate clients, allowing us to implement large turnkey networks for them. We thank H.I.G. for the strong support over the past years. We are looking forward to continue ICG’s success story as part of SPIE Group.”