Watchfire Signs Acquired by Private Equity Firm

Watchfire Signs (Danville, IL) has announced that the company has been acquired by H.I.G. Capital, a Miami-based private equity firm.

The deal paves the way for H.I.G. to provide capital and resources to enhance Watchfire’s brand, reputation and customer network, according to a statement from Watchfire.

The company has manufactured electric signs for 90 years and LED displays since 1998. Watchfire has more than 65,000 LED displays worldwide and has more digital billboard customers in the US than any other brand, per the statement.

“I am happy to be partnering with H.I.G. Capital to continue to drive growth, both organically and through aggressively pursuing add-on acquisition opportunities,” Steve Harriott, CEO of Watchfire, is quoted in the statement. “We are excited to leverage H.I.G.’s considerable experience investing in outdoor advertising companies to accelerate our own growth initiatives.”

“We believe Watchfire represents an ideal opportunity to invest in a premier provider of digital signage at a time when market tailwinds such as digital transformation and the replacement of aging signage will continue to drive growth,” Ryan Kaplan, managing director at H.I.G. is quoted. “We look forward to supporting Steve and the rest of his executive team as they continue to lead the company through its next exciting phase of expansion.”

H.I.G. Capital focuses its investments on small and mid-sized companies in the manufacturing and service industries. It has more than $50 billion under management.

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For more information, visit watchfiresigns.com.