Genesis Capital, one of the most established institutional private equity players in Central Europe, has finalised the fundraising of its new fund, Genesis Private Equity Fund IV (GPEF IV), reaching its maximum hard-cap of EUR 150 million. It is already the sixth private equity fund of Genesis Capital in over 22 years since its establishment.
The final closing of GPEF IV concluded with the EUR 15 million commitment from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), which has returned to the Czech Republic after a pause of 13 years. Anne Fossemalle, Director, Equity Funds at the EBRD, said: “We are excited to support SMEs and mid-cap companies in the Czech Republic in partnership with Genesis Capital, with whom we have a long-standing relationship. The investment strikes right at the heart of the EBRD’s strategy for re-engaging in the Czech Republic in line with the strategic priority to support economic recovery from the Covid-19 crisis, by providing equity support for Czech companies and supporting development of alternative funding sources.”
“The most robust and ambitious fundraising process in the Genesis Capital history has been successfully completed, with GPEF IV reaching its maximum hard cap. We are glad to see the appetite from our long-term institutional investors but also from new reputable parties, some of them investing in the Czech Republic for the first time. We are especially happy to welcome back EBRD on their return to the Czech Republic,” comments Ondřej Vičar, Managing Partner at Genesis Capital Equity.
GPEF IV attracted commitments from a number of other renowned institutional investors: the European Investment Fund (EIF), Česká spořitelna bank (member of the Erste group), two insurance companies of Vienna Insurance Group, asset managers Amundi Czech Republic, Raiffeisen Investment Company, Sirius Investment Company, RSJ Investments, Swiss fund-of-funds Alpha Associates, pension funds of the Lithuanian group INVL, family office SPM Capital and a pension fund of a renowned global firm.
The entry of EBRD brings the total number of institutional LPs of current Genesis funds to 13 investor groups. “Through the continuous growth of assets of our funds combined with an expansion and balanced diversification of their premium institutional investor base, Genesis Capital continues to position itself as a leading institutional private equity platform within its core region of operation,” Ondřej Vičar adds.
In a similar manner to its predecessors, GPEF IV will invest in established companies with an attractive growth profile. It will focus on situations where successful founders are considering suitable successors, or are looking for capital to grow their businesses, expand internationally or invest in innovations, or alternatively on cases where multinational groups looking to divest their non-core business units are searching for a suitable partner. The fund will invest across a wide range of industries, but with preference for sectors where Genesis Capital funds have had a strong historical track record. These include B2B services, light and medium manufacturing, IT services and specialised retail/e-commerce and consumer-oriented services.