Miami, Florida, USA 20 May 2013 -- Miami-based HIG Capital, LLC, recently announced today that an affiliate completed the acquisition of Caraustar Industries, Inc. a leading provider of recycled paperboard and related products. Caraustar was majority owned by private investment funds managed by Wayzata Investment Partners LLC.

Headquartered in Austell, GA, Caraustar is one of North America's largest integrated manufacturers and converters of 100% recycled paperboard and converted paperboard products. Caraustar serves end-use markets in tube and core, folding carton, gypsum facing paper and specialty paperboard products. Caraustar is also one of the largest collectors and processors of recovered fiber in the United States. The Company services its diversified customer base through a large network of facilities across North America.

In 2009, Wayzata led a group of bondholders in a pre-packaged chapter 11 process in which Wayzata-managed funds acquired a majority ownership stake in Caraustar. The Wayzata led restructuring significantly reduced Caraustar’s debt burden and dramatically improved Caraustar’s balance sheet. Since exiting bankruptcy, Caraustar has used its stronger balance sheet to drive operational improvement and to increase profitability.

Mike Patton, CEO of Caraustar, commented "We believe this is an exciting time in our industry, and I am pleased to have H.I.G.'s support to help us achieve our growth plan. We look forward to working with H.I.G. to build upon our reputation as a customer-oriented market leader."

"We are very excited about the Caraustar opportunity," added Tenno Tsai, a Principal of H.I.G. "Caraustar is a market leader with a blue chip customer base, broad geographic footprint and an efficient, high quality manufacturing base. We believe there are numerous market opportunities going forward and we look forward to supporting Mike and his team in achieving continued growth.", he commented further.

Financing for the transaction was provided by Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC, Goldman Sachs Bank USA, Jefferies LLC and Wells Fargo Capital Finance. Jefferies LLC was financial advisor to Caraustar. Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC was financial advisor to H.I.G. Capital.