H.I.G. European Capital Partners Announces the Acquisition of Centros Único
MADRID – August 7, 2015 – H.I.G. European Capital Partners (“H.I.G.”), the European arm of global private equity firm H.I.G. Capital, announced the acquisition of Centros Único, a leading European provider of permanent hair removal and medical aesthetic services. Founded in Spain, Centros Único is the market leader in the high quality hair removal sector offering superior diode laser technology, the most effective and lasting existing technology. Additionally, Centros Unico is a pioneer in providing medical aesthetic services, offering a wide range of non-invasive beauty treatments at very competitive prices. Centros Unico has provided its treatments to more than 300.000 customers and has a presence in Spain, Portugal, the United Kingdom, Italy, Germany Switzerland and Mexico with 156 centers, most of them located in the Iberian Peninsula.
Centros Único was founded in 2011 by Azucena Rubio and Jorge Cabrero, who will remain as equity partners and will still be actively involved in the company´s day to day management. This association will allow Centros Unico to benefit from the operational, financial and strategic know-how of H.I.G. throughout its international expansion process and the development of the aesthetic medicine strategy.
H.I.G. has prior experience in the aesthetic sector, having completed a highly successful investment in Ideal Image, a leading laser center chain in the US. Additionally, H.I.G. has a wide network of offices, including countries where Centros Unico has a presence, and hence will be able to locally support its expansion plans.
Jorge Cabrero, founder of Centros Único commented: “This investment strengthens our market leading position. We are delighted with the opportunity of working with H.I.G., a partner with deep knowledge of the industry from a global perspective, that will enable us to deliver our strategy,” and Azucena Rubio, also founder of Centros Único, added: ”We value H.I.G.’s investment, as it will enable us to consolidate our leadership, creating significant value to our franchisees and customers”.
Jaime Bergel, Managing Director of H.I.G. Europe, who also heads H.I.G. Europe’s Spanish activities, affirmed: “Centros Único is a pioneer in the hair removal and non-invasive aesthetic medicine sectors, offering an unbeatable quality service at a very competitive price. We are thrilled to become part of the Centros Único team and be able to bring our resources to support and strengthen its expansion plans”.
Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
About Centros Único
Centros Único is the leading provider of permanent hair removal and aesthetic medicine services in Spain. With 156 centers, it has successfully provided its services to more than 300,000 customers. Centros Único currently employs more than 211 people through its 21 owned stores and its wide network of franchises. For further information, please refer to Centros Único website at www.centrosunico.com.
About H.I.G. Capital
H.I.G. is a leading global private equity and alternative assets investment firm with €17.000 million 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:
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 100 companies with combined sales in excess of €22.000 million. For more information, please refer to the H.I.G. website at www.hig.com.
* Based on total capital commitments to funds managed by H.I.G. Capital and its affiliates.