MCI.EuroVentures fund has signed an agreement for the purchase of 100 per cent of the shares in Mobiltek, the owner of Dotpay, a Polish electronic payment specialist.
The latest investment of the MCI.EuroVentures fund is in line with the strategy to strengthen the fund’s exposure to services in the financial technologies sector (FinTech), one of the fastest growing new technology sectors.
Dotpay is one of the leaders of the Polish market of electronic payments. The company has a share of over a dozen per cent in ‘Pay-by-link’, one of the most popular payment forms in Polish e-commerce, making up over 1/3 of all online payments. Dotpay also offers payments by debit cards and mobile payments. It has been a licenced national payment institution since 2013. Mobiltek, the leader in payments by premium text messages and direct carrier billing (DCB), has been providing these services in cooperation with Polish telecom operators to both local and international clients. The company also has considerable skills and experience in providing specialist IT services for the financial sector.
“In line with the investment strategy which we followed earlier this year, we are focusing on the very promising area of cashless payments. Dotpay and Mobiltek are next attractive companies from this part of the market, and their offer complements the offer of eCard, the company also managed by the fund. In contrast to eCard, whose main focus is on credit card payments, Dotpay focuses on online transfers and Mobiltek on premium text messages and DCB. The cooperation between these three companies under the guidance of our fund will contribute to a dynamic growth of the customer base and the extent of provided services to the benefit of all companies,” says Cezary Smorszczewski, the President of the Management Board of Private Equity Managers SA, who also manages the MCI. EuroVentures fund.
“The potential of the Polish market of online payments results from its direct link with the fast-developing e-commerce market, whose value goes up by two digits every year. According to experts this tendency will continue in the coming years. What is more, in Poland, in contrast to the West, cash on delivery remains the dominant form of payment for online shopping. However, the efficiency, convenience and safety of online payments are making them more and more popular while the share of cash on delivery in all forms of payment should see a steady decrease,” says Łukasz Wierdak, MCI Investment Director.
Poland’s e-commerce market in 2014 was valued at PLN 27 billion. At the end of 2015 its value is forecasted at PLN 31.5 billion. According to forecasts, in 2019 the market will be worth PLN 50 billion. PMR, a research company, estimates that cash on delivery is the most popular form of online payments in Poland, with a share of 42 per cent. However, every year its popularity drops by 2 to 4 per cent. Instant transfers, such as ‘Pay-by-link’, come second (37 per cent).
Dotpay’s development strategy will help to exploit this potential. Within the next 2 to 3 years Dotpay wants to reinforce its activity in the mobile payments sector and offer new payment services for individual customers and merchants. The company also has considerable potential for finding new online and offline customers. During the next 3 to 5 years the company plans to enter Central and Eastern Europe markets and to build multi-channel distribution.
“Our new professional partner, MCI.EuroVentures, managed by Private Equity Managers, understands the e-commerce market and has experience in investing in FinTech companies, which is a guarantee of our dynamic development both in Poland and in the region,” says Andrzej Budzik, Dotpay’s CEO.
Mobiltek’s development strategy is based on an increase in the sales of multimedia content, the development of specialist IT services for financial institutions, the development of the DCB market in cooperation with telecom operators and on building its market position in the CEE region.
Dorota Ubysz, Mobiltek’s CEO, adds: We are now able to mark a stronger presence both in Poland and other CEE markets. Thanks to our knowledge and experience in the promising e-commerce and mobile sectors, we are confident about the company’s future. Our strategy includes ambitious plans of developing new products and services. We believe that innovative e-commerce or mobile payments solution created by the group will bring benefits to both merchants and individual customers. We’re counting on strong support from the Fund in the implementation of this strategy.
Funds managed by the Private Equity Managers group already have a number of e-commerce companies in their investment portfolios. Synergies following from the cooperation with Dotpay and Mobiltek will speed up their growth, which will translate into their market value.
