GREENWICH, CT August 3, 2012 — Littlejohn & Co., LLC, a private investment firm based in Greenwich, CT, announced today that it has made an investment in Howard Berger Company (HBC), a leading designer, marketer, and supplier of a broad array of branded and private label hardware and houseware-related products to retailers and wholesalers in North America.
Based in Cranbury, NJ, HBC sells 13,500 products covering 25 distinct product categories to leading retailers, discount stores, home centers, wholesalers, drug and food chains, catalog companies, municipalities, and hardware stores worldwide. The company, founded in 1971, grew over the years with a number of strategic acquisitions and today offers its customers a wide array of private label and store brands, including hardware and housewares, cleaning products, quality tools, plumbing supplies, seasonal products, automotive care accessories, and pest control products. “Over the past 40-plus years, the Berger family has built an exciting company with a leading reputation and this investment marks an important milestone to support the Company’s next phase of growth,” said Jim Brower, CEO of HBC. “We look forward to working with the Littlejohn team who will help us to skillfully guide the Company forward.”
Steven Raich, a Managing Director of Littlejohn, said, “HBC operates with a highly diversified business model and by further penetrating current channels and leveraging its extensive customer base we can continue the Company’s growth momentum. We also expect to help identify acquisitions that will add new customers and channels, or significantly extend existing product lines.”
About Littlejohn & Co., LLC Littlejohn & Co. is a Greenwich, Connecticut-based private equity and distressed securities firm focused on investing in middle-market companies that are undergoing a fundamental change in capital structure, strategy, operations or growth that can benefit from its operational and strategic approach. The firm is currently investing from Littlejohn Fund IV, L.P., which has over $1.3 billion in capital commitments. For more information, visit www.littlejohnllc.com.
