Indianapolis, IN – August 27, 2018 – Hammond, Kennedy, Whitney & Company, Inc. (“HKW”), a private equity firm focused on making investments alongside talented managers in the middle market, announced last week that it closed on the acquisition of Urban Armor Gear, LLC (“UAG” or “Company”). UAG, headquartered in Laguna Niguel, CA,is a designer and manufacturer of branded, patented, and rugged protective cases for mobile phones, laptops, and tablets.

Samuel Siu, Co-CEO at UAG, said “On behalf of the UAG management team, we are excited about this partnership with HKW. We are positioning ourselves for the next phase of future growth and expansion with this new structure. Partnering with HKW, we have full confidence in the future of UAG.”

Steve Armstrong, Co-CEO at UAG, added, “This is an exciting and pivotal moment for UAG.  Our unique partnership with HKW provides the means to fuel our continued growth while our management team focuses on building the brand, innovating new products, and expanding our global supply chain.”

Luke Phenicie, Lead Transaction Partner at HKW, said, “We are very excited to make the investment in UAG and to partner with this management team. The Company has grown tremendously since inception and has significant opportunities on the horizon, and we are excited the team chose and trusted HKW as their investment partner.”

“UAG fits squarely into HKW’s sweet spot of finding management owners who will retain significant equity ownership going forward.  Additionally, the business generates exceptional free cash flow while also having non-cyclical consumer demand for its products,” Chris Eline, Principal at HKW added.

About HKW

HKW is a private equity firm founded in 1903 with offices in Indianapolis and New York. Since 1982, HKW has sponsored 59 platform transactions of lower middle-market companies throughout North America, as well as 62 add-on acquisitions. For further information on HKW, please visit www.hkwinc.com. Press inquiries, please contact James Snyder at 317-705-8815.

Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP (“Taft”) served as legal advisor to HKW. Forfurther information on Taft, please visit www.taftlaw.com.

D.A.Davidson & Co. served as financial advisor to UAG.  For further information on D.A. Davidson, please visit www.dadavidson.com.

Greenberg Traurig LLP served as legal advisor to UAG.  For further information on Greenberg Traurig, please visit www.gtlaw.com/en.