Jet Investment has closed its second fund Jet 2 with CZK4 billion in capital commitments from making it the largest private equity fund in the Czech Republic open to a broader range of investors.
The investment horizon of the fund is set from eight to ten years, with the funds raised set to be invested in private companies, particularly in the industrial sector in the Central and Eastern European region.
Over 160 private investors, family investment companies and financial institutions such as banks, insurance companies and international asset managers made commitments to the fund. Jet Investment partners have committed 15 per cent of the total raised with institutional investors contributing 28 per cent.
The Qualified Investors’ Fund Jet 2 will have three years to buy industrial plants.
“We will focus on the majority shareholding in small and medium-sized enterprises in the domains such as engineering, automotive, alternative energy sources, special chemistry or railways. We also see a great future in modern composite materials,” says Igor Fait, Managing Partner of Jet Investment. “We will buy businesses, in which we see an interesting growth potential or synergies with other companies in the group,” adds Fait.
The plan is to build four industry platforms within the scope of the fund, buying not just in the Czech Republic and Slovakia but also in other Central and Eastern European countries. The Brno-based financiers have already invested in Germany, Austria and Poland during the Jet 1 Fund’s investment period.
The investment horizon of Fund Jet 2 will span from eight-to-ten years and it targets an internal rate of return at about 15 per cent pa. This assumed rate of return is currently being met by the Jet 1 Fund, which has achieved an internal rate of return at 13.5 per cent pa over three years of operation.
Investing in Qualified Investors’ Funds has gained increasing popularity among Czech investors. According to the Czech Capital Market Association, the volume of assets in the Qualified Investors’ Fund reached CZK 148.787 billion on 30 June 2018 (quarterly increase by 7.16 per cent).
