Next Generation Sold to Equity Firm 2011-08-17

Next Generation Vending and Food Service, Inc., has been acquired by H.I.G. Capital, LLC, a leading global private equity investment firm. Staughton, MA-based Next Generation is a leading provider of vending services for corporate and institutional clients in the Northeast and a pioneer in the use of remote monitoring systems (RMS) in vending machines. It sold its manual foodservice division to Lessing's, a Long Island based contract management firm, at the beginning of this year.

“We are very pleased with H.I.G.’s support of our business and will benefit from their involvement with the company as we complete our strategic rollout of RMS technology to our entire fleet of vending machines and vehicles,” says CEO David Mac Isaac. “With H.I.G.’s backing and expertise, we will be well positioned to aggressively seek and exploit growth opportunities to better service our existing customers’ vending needs as well as those of new customers.”

Michael Phillips, a Managing Director at H.I.G., commented, “We are very excited to invest in Next Generation along with its exceptional management team. Management’s outstanding track record and demonstrated ability to close 11 acquisitions over the past three years, while at the same time significantly improving profitability, is a testament to the team’s capabilities and depth. We look forward to assisting Next Generation to maintain its leadership position as the largest vending company in the Northeast and to continue to grow its footprint and implement RMS technology.”

Next Generation's management will retain a sizeable equity stake in the Company alongside H.I.G.