HelpSystems to be Acquired

H.I.G. Middle Market (“H.I.G.”), the dedicated middle market investment affiliate of H.I.G. Capital, a leading global private equity investment firm with $19 billion of equity capital under management, has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire HelpSystems, LLC (“HelpSystems”, or the “Company”) from current investor Summit Partners. The completion of the transaction is subject to regulatory and anti-trust approval.

Headquartered in Eden Prairie, MN, HelpSystems is a leading provider of system & network management, business intelligence, and security & compliance solutions. With over 9,000 customers across a broad range of industries, HelpSystems is the market leader within system & network management for the IBM-i operating system and is rapidly expanding its presence on the Windows, Linux, and Unix platforms.

Fraser Preston, Managing Director at H.I.G., commented, “We are excited to partner with Chris Heim, Dan Mayleben, and the entire HelpSystems team to continue the Company’s strong growth. We look forward to working together with the management team to expand HelpSystems’ suite of products and to continue to provide best-in-class service to HelpSystems’ customers.”

“We are thrilled to work with H.I.G.,” said Chris Heim, CEO of HelpSystems. “We share core philosophies of taking exceptional care of customers and employees and together we’ll continue on the mission of delivering software that makes IT lives easier and solves real problems.”

Evercore is acting as lead financial advisor to H.I.G. Credit Suisse is also a financial advisor to H.I.G.

About HelpSystems, Inc.
HelpSystems empowers people to excel in IT like never before. Every day more than 9,000 organizations across the globe rely on HelpSystems to automate and simplify server and network management, protect data, and give people simple access to information they need. Find out how HelpSystems makes IT lives easier and keeps businesses running smoothly at www.helpsystems.com.

About H.I.G. Middle Market
H.I.G.’s Middle Market Fund specializes in providing up to $200m of equity in transactions involving mid-market companies with high-quality, value-added products and services, and attractive growth potential. H.I.G.’s Middle Market Fund aligns itself with committed management teams and will make investments across a wide range of industries and opportunities, from profitable market leaders to underperforming businesses facing unique challenges. We work closely with our management teams and use our in-house operating expertise to help our portfolio companies become industry leaders.

About H.I.G. Capital
H.I.G. is a leading global private equity and alternative assets investment firm with $19 billion 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 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 $30 billion. For more information, please refer to the H.I.G. website at www.higcapital.com.

Source: H.I.G Capital