Innova Capital, a CEE private equity fund, is to acquire almost 75 per cent in the Polish seating manufacturer Profim.
The transaction is expected to close in Q2 2017, after clearance by the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK). The parties have not disclosed the value of the transaction.
Two of the founders of Profim, including its CEO Ryszard Rychlik, will continue as shareholders.
It is the 10th such founder succession transaction executed by Innova Capital in recent years. A similar model of cooperation was deployed by the fund in other investments, including Dom Finansowy QS, Marmite, Neomedic, Mercor and Donako.
“We are very proud to become a majority shareholder in a company as modern and promising as Profim. In our strategy we focus on investing in companies which are leaders in their respective industries and are flagship representatives of the new class of Polish exporters. We are impressed by how successfully the company has developed over the past 25 years, especially becoming the leader on the Polish market. We also recognise its tremendous success in promoting its own brand in Germany. We intend to support the company in pursuing its ambitious plans for development on the very promising export markets, cooperating closely with its founders. Founder succession deals are the core transaction type for Innova,” says Andrzej Bartos, senior partner at Innova, who has led the investment for the fund.
Profim’s main goal is to strengthen its position as a leader on the office seating market and build the strong Profim brand on select key markets in Western Europe. Presently the company is one of the two leading manufacturers of office seating in Poland and one of the top 10 players on the German market, considered the most competitive market for office furniture in Europe.
“Cooperation with Innova Capital is a great opportunity for the company to accomplish faster its strategic objectives with the support of a professional partner. Delivering more innovative products, expanding exports and accelerating penetration of foreign markets requires capital and experience. That is why we see enormous value in the involvement of Innova Capital at this stage of development of the company,” says Ryszard Rychlik, CEO of Profim.
The company is constantly increasing export revenues, introducing new models of seating that are developed together with leading Polish and European designers. In 2016 Profim generated around PLN470 million of revenue from sales, out of which 70 per cent from export sales. Presently, the company’s distribution network includes over 1,000 dealers in 30 countries.
