Private-equity firm takes stake in Cocona

BOULDER – Sport and outdoor fabric company Cocona Inc. said it raised $15 million in new funds, with the H.I.G. Growth Partners global private-equity firm taking a 34 percent stake in the company.

Cocona will market its patented drying fabric technology, and build its brand with the new funds, said Chris Castagno, chief marketing officer at the Boulder-based company. Cocona plans to hire five new people this year to support growth, Castagno said.

Cocona fabric already is used in clothing made by outdoor companies such as The North Face in San Leandro, California, a subsidiary of Vanity Fair Corp. (NYSE: VFC) based in Greensboro, North Carolina, and Sport Obermeyer skiwear in Aspen, among others. In addition to H.I.G. Growth Partners, previous majority investor Fairhaven Capital in Boston and investor OnPoint Technologies Inc. in Winter Park, Florida, were involved in the new round of funding.

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Craig Burson, H.I.G. Growth Partners’ managing director, will join Cocona’s board of directors. Cocona fabric technology also is used in shoes and sleeping bags, and has other applications, according to the press statement.

H.I.G. is a private equity investment firm with more than $10 billion of capital under management and offices in major cities in the United States and Europe. The firm makes equity investments ranging from $5 million to $30 million in companies with between $10 million and $100 million in revenue.