• February 4, 2015
  • Latin America

H.I.G. Capital Portfolio Company LG lugar de gente Acquires W3 to Form the Only HR Focused Software Company in Brazil with a Full HCMS Footprint

RIO DE JANEIRO – February 4, 2015 – H.I.G. Capital (“H.I.G.”), a leading global private equity investment firm with more than $17 billion of equity capital under management, is pleased to announce that its portfolio company LG lugar de gente (“LG”), a leading human resources software provider in Brazil, has acquired W3net (“W3”), a leading provider of SaaS Human Capital Management Systems (“SaaS HCMS”).

Following the acquisition, LG will be the only HR focused company in Brazil with a full HCMS footprint including HR core and strategic functions, workforce management, compensation and rewards, recruiting and hiring, talent management and learning tools. As both companies share the same market focus, they will be able to cross-sell their products and explore their combined client base. Furthermore, W3’s experience with SaaS will add important R&D capabilities to LG’s next generation products.

Ricardo and Cibele Vasconcelos, co-founders of W3, will serve as technology and commercial directors and will lead the company’s growth and integration efforts.

The founder and CEO of LG, Gustavo Teixeira, welcomed the W3 team and noted “The two companies have worked together in the past and we share the same values and vision. The synergies and the benefits
of this merger are obvious to all of us.”

Fernando Marques Oliveira, Head of H.I.G. Brasil and H.I.G. Latin America, commented, “With best-in-class HCMS technology, this acquisition consolidates LG as the leading HR software company in Brazil. W3 has the most complementary offering to LG’s application suite, and has a high commitment to product quality and client service. We are confident the two companies will benefit greatly from working together.”

About W3net
Headquartered in Belo Horizonte, MG, W3 is a leading provider of SaaS Human Capital Management Systems (“SaaS HCMS”) with best-in-class employee performance, goal management and feedback functions. The company has more than 90 clients across several industry verticals, mostly among the top 500 companies in Brazil. W3 operates in an underdeveloped market that is growing approximately 3x faster than core HR. For more information, visit www.w3net.com.br.

About LG lugar de gente
Founded in 1985, LG provides products and services that support human resources departments of over 400 companies in different industries across Brazil. LG has been growing at over 20% a year organically. The Company’s payroll solution is primarily targeted at large corporations with over 5,000 employees. For more information, visit www.lg.com.br.

About H.I.G. Capital
H.I.G. is a leading global private equity and alternative assets investment firm with more than $17 billion of equity capital under management.* Based in Miami, and with offices in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, New York and San Francisco in the U.S., as well as international affiliate offices in London, Hamburg, Madrid, Milan, Paris 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 on 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. Other H.I.G. funds invest in various real assets, including real estate and shipping.

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 80 companies with combined sales in excess of $30 billion. For more information, please refer to the H.I.G. website at www.hig.com.

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

Contacts

Fernando Marques Oliveira
Managing Director
foliveira@hig.com

H.I.G. Capital
Avenida Ataulfo de Paiva
nº 1251 – 9th Floor - Leblon
Rio de Janeiro - RJ, 22440-034
Brazil

T +55 21 2529-3550
F +55 21 2529-3551
www.higcapital.br.com

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