HIDDEN HARBOR CAPITAL PARTNERS LAUNCHES OPERATIONS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (Boca Raton, Florida) – Two of the industry’s leading veterans, John Caple and David Block, have announced the formation of Hidden Harbor Capital Partners (“Hidden Harbor”), an operationally focused private equity firm specializing in control investments in lower middle market companies. Hidden Harbor will leverage its deep operational and financial resources to transform and grow companies in industries such as industrials, transportation and logistics, business services, consumer products, and retail.

The firm will seek out platform investment opportunities in U.S.-based companies with revenues between $50 and $500 million and EBITDA up to $25 million with a willingness to look at unprofitable businesses. Results will be driven by creating strong management teams and utilizing the firm’s substantial in-house resources and operational expertise.

“John and I have a shared history spanning more than 20 years across a diverse mix of industries and more importantly, a shared vision of creating a firm with core values deeply rooted in integrity, team, high-performance, passion and a commitment to constant improvement, which will serve as the foundation in everything we do and reflected throughout all aspects of our business and relationships,” said David Block, Managing Partner.

Hidden Harbor is distinct from other private equity firms in terms of its leadership team’s significant hands-on investing and operating experience, and its strict focus on the power and importance of human relationships as the core of every business.

“While we are a first time fund, we believe this foundation of core values and our noteworthy level of operating experience differentiates us in a meaningful way,” says John Caple, Managing Partner. “Our combined experience in strategy and operations improvement in growing companies, coupled with our established reputation and track record, will allow us to generate very favorable results for our partners and strong investment returns for our LPs.”

Hidden Harbor’s team has over 40 years of combined experience, including prominent leadership roles with some of the nation’s most prestigious professional services and private equity firms, including Bain & Company and H.I.G. Capital.

Mr. Block is a Managing Partner of Hidden Harbor, chairs the firm’s Portfolio Committee and is responsible for driving performance improvement across the firm’s portfolio companies. David has over 20 years of experience in leading large-scale business transformations across numerous industries, often times serving as the CEO or Operating Partner for several of the world’s top tier private equity firms. Prior to founding Hidden Harbor, Mr. Block recently served as the President and CEO of Swiss Watch International, a leading e-commerce watch company backed by the Clearlake Capital Group. Previously, Mr. Block held the title of Operating Partner at H.I.G. Capital, where he oversaw investments in Big Tex Trailers, Trinity Services Group, and Aluminum Shapes among others. He also served as CFO for Arise Virtual Solutions, a private-equity backed portfolio company, and as Senior Vice President of DS Waters, where he led the consolidation of Danone Waters of North America and Suntory Water Group to form DS Waters. Prior to that, Mr. Block was a strategy consultant with Bain & Company, where he advised multi-national companies and top tier private equity firms on strategy, performance improvement, organizational design, transformations, mergers and acquisitions, due diligence and exit planning. David also worked in brand management at Procter & Gamble and as an accountant with Arthur Andersen. David is a non-practicing CPA and holds a B.S. in Accounting from Miami University of Ohio, and an M.B.A from the Harvard Business School.

Mr. Caple is a Managing Partner of Hidden Harbor, chairs the firm’s Investment Committee and sets the overall strategic direction for the firm. John has over twenty years of private equity investment and operational experience driving complex business turnarounds and producing top tier investment returns. Prior to founding Hidden Harbor, Mr. Caple served as a Partner at Comvest Partners, where he was a leader in the firm’s equity fund, a member of the Executive Committee, and oversaw investments in U.S. Pipe, Sunteck Transportation Group, Innovative Hearth Products and Haggen. Prior to Comvest, Mr. Caple was an investment professional with H.I.G. Capital where he led several of the firm’s successful investments. Mr. Caple was also a strategy consultant at Bain & Company where he led strategy engagements for various Fortune 500 Companies and led due diligence assignments for some of the largest private equity funds in both the United States and Europe. John holds a B.A. in Economics from Stanford University and an M.B.A from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

About Hidden Harbor Capital Partners
Hidden Harbor Capital Partners is a private equity firm with an operations soul and intense passion for building great companies. Hidden Harbor brings large-scale, private equity experience and resources to the lower middle market with a focus on value-oriented, operationally intense situations. Our principals are InvestorOperators® who have both extensive transaction and operating experience to truly understand your business. As one team, we partner and work hand-in-hand with our portfolio companies to drive business successes. For more information, visit www.hh-cp.com.