Sunshine Custom Publishing, Inc. and True North Custom Publishing, LLC Announce Strategic Merger
SCOTTSDALE – May 14, 2007 – Sunshine Holdings Corporation today announced the merger of its Sunshine Custom Publishing, Inc. division with True North Custom Publishing LLC of Chattanooga, TN. This transaction unites two of the fastest growing regional publishing businesses in the country, enabling significant synergies for the leading company in this rapidly expanding market. Sunshine Holdings is an affiliate of H.I.G. Capital, a leading global private equity firm based in Miami.
True North Custom Publishing is the leading healthcare custom publisher providing highly specialized custom magazines, newsletters and web content to local community hospital clients and regional healthcare systems. True North’s patented True Custom® production process enables a high quality publication specifically focused on a local community, allowing hospitals to customize their marketing efforts and outreach programs to their unique audience. Rapidly growing to meet the demand for customized marketing solutions, True North currently provides custom publishing solutions to over 135 community hospitals and health care organizations, complementing Sunshine’s deep experience within the healthcare sector.
Established in 1982, Sunshine Holdings Corporation is the leading publisher and printer of specialized, regional magazines targeting professionals in industries including healthcare and real estate. The company publishes over 1,000 unique editions of magazine titles such as M.D. News, Doctor of Dentistry and Builder/Architect, targeting niche professional communities and advertisers within specific geographic markets. Representing the largest direct marketing force focused on local community-oriented content, Sunshine, through its network of over 180 local publishers operates in over 130 geographic markets across the country. The company’s divisional operations will include Sunshine Media, Inc. in Scottsdale, AZ, Sunshine Media Printing, Inc. in Tucson, AZ, and True North Custom Publishing, Inc. in Chattanooga, TN.
“We are creating a powerful new force in the industry with a tremendous regional footprint, high quality community-oriented content, local customer focus and proprietary technology investments to offer the very best in publishing services to our customers,” said Jim Martin, President and Chief Executive Officer, Sunshine Holdings Corporation. “Our immediate priorities are the seamless integration of our two companies, the continued expansion of our highly scalable publishing platform and the pursuit of the numerous growth opportunities presented by the merger.”
“This merger makes absolute sense for our employees and our customers. It marks an unparalleled opportunity for two successful, customer-driven organizations to unify with a singular focus on being the leading regional publishing company in this country,” said David McDonald, President and Chief Executive Officer, True North Custom Publishing. “Together we will extend our footprint into new geographic regions, further develop our healthcare expertise and combine our creative efforts to provide our customers with innovative new solutions to their local marketing needs.”
Charles Hanemann, Managing Director, H.I.G. Capital concluded, “This merger signifies a real milestone in the regional publishing industry. Given its specialized, local customer focus and world class production and printing capabilities, we are excited about the prospects for the combined company to build on its leading position within this rapidly growing market.”
About Sunshine Media
Sunshine Media is a leading publisher of regionally-focused magazines targeting local professional communities within the United States and Canada. Sunshine Media publications include M.D. News, Doctor of Dentistry, Builder/Architect and Real Estate Executive. For more information, please refer to the Sunshine Media website at www.sunshinemedia.com.
About True North
True North Custom Publishing is a leader in full-service health care publishing specializing in custom magazines, newsletters and web content throughout the United States and Canada. For more information, please refer to the True North website at www.truenorthcustom.com.
About H.I.G. Capital
H.I.G. Capital L.L.C. (“H.I.G.”) is a leading global private equity investment firm with more than $4 billion of equity capital under management. Based in Miami, and with offices in Atlanta, Boston, and San Francisco in the U.S., as well as affiliate offices in London, Hamburg and Paris in Europe, H.I.G. specializes in providing capital to small and medium-sized companies with attractive growth potential. H.I.G. invests in management-led buyouts and recapitalizations of profitable and well managed manufacturing or service businesses. H.I.G. also has extensive experience with financial restructurings and operational turnarounds. Since its founding, H.I.G. has completed more than 75 transactions. The firm currently manages a portfolio of more than 50 companies with combined revenues in excess of $7 billion. For more information, please refer to the H.I.G. website at www.hig.com.