Polish Enterprise Fund VIII (PEF VIII), a private equity fund managed by Enterprise Investors (EI), has announced a tender offer for 100% of PragmaGO, a provider of financial services to the SME sector. PEF VIII has secured the right to acquire from the majority shareholder, Pragma Inkaso, a stake that will give the fund 72.07% of votes at the general shareholders’ meeting. The maximum value of the tender offer is EUR 11.9 million.
- PEF VIII’s intention is to delist PragmaGO so it can continue its development in the private market;
- The subscription period for the tender offer will run from 16 December to 29 January 2021;
- The tender offer share price for the minority shareholders will be 35% higher, than for the majority shareholder. This price includes a 20% premium to the share price on the day preceding the tender offer announcement and is 37% higher than the average price of PragmaGO’s shares over the last six months;
- Once the tender offer is settled, EI plans to increase the company’s share capital by EUR 13.4 million at a price materially lower than the share price in the tender offer;
- If the required voting threshold is reached, the fund will take measures to squeeze out those among PragmaGO’s minority shareholders who did not respond to the tender offer.
PragmaGO operates in the non-banking financial market, offering customers such products as factoring and purchase financing and providing businesses with both working and investment capital. The company’s offer is tailored to the needs of small and medium-sized enterprises operating in Poland. By focusing its business model on automated online processes and distribution alliances with numerous partners, PragmaGO can offer customers a comprehensive range of solutions for improving their liquidity quickly and efficiently. After three quarters of 2020, PragmaGO held a portfolio worth EUR 21.2 million, had EUR 8.1 million of equity and EUR 0.4 million of net profit.
Dariusz Prończuk, the managing partner at Enterprise Investors responsible for the transaction, said: “Our aim is to delist the company from the Warsaw Stock Exchange. We believe that for PragmaGO to develop and make full use of the market’s potential it needs substantial capital injection, which we are willing to provide. In addition, we intend to support the company’s management with our broad experience from previous investments in the financial and technological sectors. All this can be achieved more efficiently and quickly once PragmaGO becomes a private company”.
To date, EI-managed funds invested EUR 322 million in 21 companies operating in the financial sector.