Enterprise Investors sells its stake in FinGO
Bratislava, 21 November 2023 — Polish Enterprise Fund VIII (PEF VIII), a private equity fund managed by Enterprise Investors (EI), will exit FinGO, a financial services intermediary operating in Slovakia and Czechia.
- The fund sold its 40.6% stake to the company’s founder and majority shareholder;
- The value of the transaction was not disclosed;
- The deal requires approval by the Antimonopoly Office of the Slovak Republic.
FinGO is a financial services intermediary with a multi-channel distribution platform. The company sells mortgages and life insurance primarily, but also investments, pension savings and non-life insurance. It was founded in Slovakia in 2017 by Lukáš Novák, who remained a majority shareholder following PEF VIII’s entry in 2021. At EI’s exit he will buy out the fund’s entire stake, thereby becoming FinGO’s 100% owner. Mr. Novák remains committed to the company’s long-term development and plans to continue its expansion in the Slovak and Czech markets.
“We are happy we could contribute to FinGO’s development. Our decision to sell our stake in the business to the founder is rooted in the inflationary market dynamics, which have affected the company’s expansion plans in the given timescale,” said EI managing partner Dariusz Prończuk, who leads this investment.
“While FinGO is well positioned to address the growing needs of customers looking to compare complex and high-value financial products online, under the current market conditions it is more suited to a long-term investor such as Lukáš Novák is. Given the four to six years we have for realizing our required return, coupled with the increasing interest rates and accompanying strong decline of the mortgage market, we concluded our original goal might only be met within a longer investment horizon,” said Martin Chocholáček, a vice president at Enterprise Investors, who is responsible for the firm’s activity in Slovakia. “Despite the challenging times of declining demand for mortgage products, the founder and the management team are well equipped to navigate the company to further growth through diversification and tapping into new business opportunities that lie ahead of FinGO.“ he added.
“This acquisition confirms my commitment to further developing FinGO into Slovakia’s market leader and the fastest-growing player in Czechia. I am convinced that together with the management team we can continue executing our strategic plan of expanding the business, both by developing the agent network as well as online, to give our customers the best seamless service and product offering and increase share of wallet through smart x-sell strategies. We thank EI and its professionals for their contribution to establishing and expanding FinGO in the Czech market,” said Lukáš Novák, the company’s founder and CEO.
Enterprise Investors is one of the largest private equity firms in Central and Eastern Europe. Active since 1990, the firm has raised ten funds. These funds have invested and committed EUR 2.2 billion in 155 companies and exited 138 companies.
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Anna Czywczyńska, Communications & Public Affairs Director
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