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

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."

About ICG Group

ICG Group, headquartered in Leonberg (Germany), combines the competencies of the leading communication infrastructure service providers: Infratech, comcross, Schwan, TripleA Networks, and DPE. The Group covers the entire value chain from planning and construction to installation and maintenance of infrastructures for fiber-optic, mobile communications, and electricity networks. All units of the Group are characterized by a strong position in their respective segments and long-standing customer relationships. The ICG Group has more than 700 employees in 16 locations throughout Germany, mainly, as well as in the Netherlands, and Croatia. For more information, please visit icg-gruppe.de.

About H.I.G. Capital

H.I.G. Capital is a leading global alternative investment firm with $60 billion of capital under management.* Based in Miami, and with offices in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco in the United States, as well as international affiliate offices in Hamburg, London, Luxembourg, Madrid, Milan, Paris, Bogotá, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, and Dubai, H.I.G. specializes in providing both debt and equity capital to middle market 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. also manages a publicly traded BDC, WhiteHorse Finance.
• H.I.G.’s real estate funds invest in value-added properties, which can benefit from improved asset management practices.
• H.I.G. Infrastructure focuses on making value-add and core plus investments in the infrastructure sector.

Since its founding in 1993, H.I.G. has invested in and managed more than 400 companies worldwide. The Firm's current portfolio includes more than 100 companies with combined sales in excess of $53 billion. For more information, please refer to the H.I.G. website at hig.com.

*Based on total capital raised by H.I.G. Capital and its affiliates.

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Contact information

Holger Kleingarn
Managing Director
hkleingarn@hig.com

H.I.G. European Capital Partners GmbH
Warburgstrasse 50
20354 Hamburg
Germany
T: +49 40 41 33 06 100
hig.com