Charlesbank Capital Partners and H.I.G. Capital Acquire TLC Vision Corp.

BOSTON, MA--(Marketwire - May 20, 2010) - Charlesbank Capital Partners and H.I.G. Capital announced today that TLCVision, North America’s premier eye care services company, has officially emerged from Chapter 11 as a newly reorganized, private company. The company’s Plan of Reorganization, confirmed by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court on May 6, 2010, has become effective, with the company satisfying all outstanding closing conditions.

In accordance with the plan, affiliates of Charlesbank and H.I.G. have acquired substantially all the assets of the company, including 100% of the equity of TLC USA and the Company’s six refractive centers in Canada.

James B. Tiffany, President and Chief Executive Officer of TLCVision, stated, “This is an exciting day for TLCVision. We have successfully completed our financial restructuring in just five months, and we exit Chapter 11 with a healthier balance sheet and an improved cost structure. We look forward to teaming with our new partners, Charlesbank and H.I.G. With their involvement, we are now better positioned both competitively and financially to take advantage of opportunities within our markets and to achieve our true growth potential.”

Continued Mr. Tiffany, “I want to thank our employees, who worked tirelessly during the reorganization process to ensure our success, and our surgeons and over 5,000 optometrists, who continue to support TLC. Lastly, I offer a special thanks to our outgoing directors and advisors for their valuable guidance and encouragement throughout the process.”

TLC has emerged with its balance sheet deleveraged, its debt repaid in full and significant capital availability for future expansion. “We believe the decisions made over the past several months have put the company solidly on the path for success,” said Brandon White, Managing Director at Charlesbank. “With its new financial flexibility, TLC is now properly positioned to achieve its true growth potential, building on the momentum of recent months and capitalizing on its strong customer awareness and history of industry leadership.”

Tim Armstrong, Managing Director of H.I.G., added that TLC’s swift emergence from Chapter 11 is a testament to the strength of its employees and its brand. “TLCVision’s dedicated employees and outstanding management have built a great brand, and now, with a solid capital base, they can plan for the future. We are delighted to be teaming with management and Charlesbank to continue expanding TLC’s business.”

About TLCVision
TLCVision is North America’s premier eye care services company, providing eye doctors with the tools and technologies needed to deliver high-quality patient care. Through its centers’ management, technology access service models, extensive optometric relationships, direct-to-consumer advertising and managed care contracting strength, TLCVision maintains leading positions in Refractive, Cataract and Eye Care markets. Information about vision correction surgery can be found on the TLC Laser Eye Centers’ website at www.tlcvision.com.

About Charlesbank Capital Partners
Based in Boston and New York, Charlesbank Capital Partners is a leading middle-market private equity investment firm managing more than $2 billion of capital. Charlesbank focuses on management-led buyouts and growth capital financings, typically investing $50 million to $150 million per transaction in companies with enterprise values of $100 million to $750 million. The firm seeks to partner with strong management teams to build companies with sustainable competitive advantages and excellent prospects for growth. For more information, please visit www.charlesbank.com.

About H.I.G. Capital
H.I.G. Capital is a leading global private equity investment firm with more than $7.5 billion of equity capital under management. Based in Miami, and with offices in San Francisco, Atlanta, Boston and New York 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 service or manufacturing businesses. H.I.G. also has extensive experience with financial restructurings and operational turnarounds. 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 50 companies with combined revenues in excess of $8 billion. For more information, please refer to the H.I.G. website at www.higcapital.com.