Polish Enterprise Fund VIII, a private equity fund managed by Enterprise Investors (EI), will invest EUR 25 million in Software Mind, a Polish provider of software development outsourcing services.
- Software Mind is an operating division of Ailleron, a company listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange. As part of the transaction it will be carved out from the parent company, subject to approval at Ailleron’s extraordinary general meeting;
- The transaction will consist of a EUR 9 million buyout of 26.7% of Software Mind shares from Ailleron and a EUR 16 million capital increase, which in effect will raise PEF VIII’s stake in the business to 50.2%.
Software Mind is a Polish software company founded in 1999. It develops comprehensive (end-to-end) software solutions for high-profile clients that include PE-backed financial and technological industry leaders as well as Silicon Valley unicorns. Among Software Mind’s many clients are companies from the fintech, healthcare and high-tech sectors from the United States, Great Britain and Scandinavia, as well as the four largest mobile operators in Poland and a few that are based abroad. The management team is led by its original founder and represents a well-balanced mix of commitment, seniority and technical expertise.
The company operates out of four development centers across Poland: in Kraków, Rzeszów, Warsaw and Bielsko-Biała, and employs 370 IT professionals. Software Mind establishes long-term partnerships with clients, helping them to scale their dynamically growing businesses. It has a strong track record in supporting the digital transformation of companies around the world by merging with their in-house R&D teams and working on product development as well as new channels of communication with the clients’ customers.
Software Mind has historically achieved very dynamic growth, both by acquiring new accounts and by increasing the scale of business with existing ones. The growth continues this year, as confirmed by record high account acquisition and strong year-to-date results, with sales reaching EUR 15 million after first nine months of 2020.
“The company’s long-term goal is to deliver specialization at scale, by providing high-level expertise in several industries or technologies”, said Rafał Bator, the partner at Enterprise Investors responsible for this investment. “I am convinced that the planned capital increase will enable Software Mind to quickly obtain new competencies and markets, also through add-on acquisitions. We plan to grow the company exponentially, and I think the expertise we have gained by investing in companies that are great examples of the buy-and-build strategy, such as AVG Technologies, BLStream and intive, will also come in handy”, he added.