Private equity investment firm H.I.G. Capital has sold specialty fiber supplier Fibercore Ltd. to Humanetics Innovative Solutions, Inc., a portfolio company of Golden Gate Capital that supplies precision test systems and sensor products. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Founded more than 30 years ago and based in the UK, Fibercore offers specialty fiber for a variety of industries and applications, including aerospace and defence, oil and gas, and biomedical applications. It also has supplied specialty products for telecommunications applications (see, for example, "Fibercore unveils polarization maintaining fibers at OFC 2014" and "Fibercore creates customized multicore optical fibers"). The company was formed as a business venture spin-out from the University of Southampton to market commercially the specialty optical fibers developed at the university.
H.I.G. acquired the company from Cisco in 2011 (see "H.I.G. Europe acquires Fibercore from Cisco").
"Fibercore has always been an industry leader," commented Carl Harring, managing director at H.I.G. Capital. "It has been a very successful transaction and during our period of ownership, we have enjoyed working with Chris Emslie and his team helping to develop the business in new areas; in many cases pushing the boundaries of optical science via pioneering R&D. Today, Fibercore sits at the heart of the industrial Internet of Things revolution with applications ranging from driverless cars to remote operating robots relying on the company's leading edge technology. Humanetics is a natural home for the business and we wish the combination every success."
Added Emslie, CEO of Fibercore, "I would like to thank H.I.G. for their assistance in the development of Fibercore since 2011 and their support of the management team. This is an exciting moment in the Fibercore story and in combining our strengths with Humanetics and its leadership in sensor technologies, I believe we have found the perfect partner."
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