Incline Equity Partners (“Incline”), a Pittsburgh-based lower middle-market private equity firm, announces the sale of The Hilsinger Company (“Hilco”), a leading designer, merchandiser, and distributor of consumer optical accessories, professional optical tools, and related products in North America and Western Europe. Financial terms of the sale are not being disclosed.
Hilco supplies more than 20,000 products, including prescription protective eyewear, consumer and professional optical accessories, and ophthalmic products. Since 1956, Hilco has been providing eyecare professionals and consumers with innovative products and accessories. With more than 25,000 customers globally, the company serves the market through five primary brands: Hilco, Wilson Ophthalmic, Leader, OnGuard Safety and i-Promotions. Headquartered in Plainville, MA, Hilco has additional operations in North America, Europe and Australia.
Under Incline’s ownership, Hilco significantly strengthened its market position by introducing innovative new product lines focused on vision protection and has become a market leader in both the industrial safety and sport eyewear categories.
“The Hilco management team superbly balanced executing and integrating six add-on acquisitions, while at the same time successfully implementing several large-scale operational projects,” said Wali Bacdayan, a founding Partner with Incline. “The team understood how to best leverage our strategic experience, prioritizing the initiatives to be completed throughout our partnership.”
“Hilco flourished during our relationship with Incline. The supportive environment they created, combined with their extensive background in acquiring and operating middle-market distribution companies, allowed us to accomplish more than what we originally expected from the partnership,” said Bob Nahmias, Hilco Chief Executive Officer. “This is an exciting time for our company and we feel prepared for the next phase of growth.”
This exit marks the latest event in an active year for Incline. In addition to exiting its investment in Faucet Queen, Incline also added a new platform, Hartland Controls, a market leading supplier of electrical system components to the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning market and other industrial end markets.
About Incline Equity Partners:
Incline Equity Partners, headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is a private equity firm focused on making investments in lower middle-market growth companies, focusing on companies with enterprise values of $30MM to $125MM across a variety of industry sectors including value-added distribution, specialized light manufacturing and business and industrial services. Typical investment types are management buyouts, ownership transitions for privately held businesses and corporate divestitures. Incline Equity Partners has experience with investing, mergers and acquisitions, leveraged finance, leveraged buyouts and growth capital.
Disclaimer:
Incline Management Corporation (“IMC”) is registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission as an investment adviser under the U.S. Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended. Registration as an investment adviser does not imply a certain level of skill or training. IMC provides investment advisory services only to privately offered funds. IMC does not solicit or make its services available to the public or other advisory clients. This press release is intended solely to provide information regarding Incline’s potential capabilities for prospective portfolio companies, and is not an offer to sell to any person, or a solicitation from any person of an offer to buy, any securities. The statements contained herein are not statements of any IMC client fund or investor and do not describe any experience with or endorsement of IMC as an investment adviser by any such client or investor.
