H.I.G. Capital Completes Acquisition of Empire Today

MIAMI–(BUSINESS WIRE)–#PrivateEquity–H.I.G. Capital (“H.I.G.”), a leading global private equity investment
firm with more than $20 billion of equity capital under management, is
pleased to announce that one of its affiliates has acquired Empire
Today, LLC (“Empire Today” or the “Company”), a leading provider of
installed home improvements.

Headquartered in Northlake, IL, Empire Today is the largest in-home
sales flooring company and one of the largest specialty flooring
providers in America. Empire Today currently sells to consumers looking
for “Flooring Made Easy” in 68 markets, including the 30 largest markets
in the United States. The Company also sells fully installed flooring to
businesses, property managers, restoration companies, and other
organizations. Empire Today has recently expanded into offering its
products and services through a growing number of “store-within-a-store”
JCPenney locations.

“We are very excited to partner with Empire Today,” said Brian Schwartz,
Executive Managing Director at H.I.G. “The Company is a market leader
with a compelling customer value proposition, a unique business model,
an incredible brand, and significant growth prospects. We see tremendous
opportunities in the business and look forward to supporting Keith
Weinberger and the entire Empire team.”

Keith Weinberger, CEO of Empire Today, commented, “H.I.G. has spent a
great deal of time with our team and the business, is entirely
supportive of our vision to become America’s first and best choice for
installed flooring, and has made this investment to help us achieve that
goal. This transaction, and the exciting future we see, is the result of
the dedication and efforts of our employees and contractors, who make
getting beautiful new floors easy for our customers across the country.
Empire Today is committed to continuing to improve our customers’
experiences and expanding our products and services into new geographic
markets.”

About Empire Today

Empire Today, LLC, also commonly known as Empire Carpet, has been a
leading provider of installed home improvements and home furnishings for
over 50 years. Empire serves residential and business customers with a
wide selection of products suitable for homes, small businesses,
organizations and commercial applications. Our line of quality,
name-brand products includes: carpet, hardwood, laminate, ceramic, vinyl
flooring and window treatments. The company provides shop-at-home
convenience or on-site consultation, next day professional installation
on many products, quality products at great prices, and world-class
service to about 70 of the largest metropolitan areas in the United
States. With over one million satisfied customers, Empire Today is
dedicated to customer satisfaction. For more information, call
800-588-2300 or visit empiretoday.com.

About H.I.G. Capital

H.I.G. is a leading global private equity and alternative assets
investment firm with more than $20 billion of equity capital under
management.* Based in Miami, and with offices in New York, Boston,
Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Atlanta in the U.S., as
well as international affiliate offices in London, Hamburg, Madrid,
Milan, Paris, Bogotá 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/ value-added approach:

1. 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.

2. 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.

3. H.I.G.’s real estate funds invest in value-added properties, which
can benefit from improved asset management practices.

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.

* Based on total capital commitments to funds managed by H.I.G. Capital
and its affiliates.

Contacts

H.I.G. Capital
Brian Schwartz, 305-379-2322
Executive Managing
Director
bschwartz@higcapital.com
or
Justin
Reyna, 305-379-2322
Principal
jreyna@higcapital.com
or
Robert
Jang, 305-379-2322
Principal
rjang@higcapital.com
F
305-379-2013
www.higcapital.com