AND THE WINNER IS…
Following a very dramatic voting of CVCA and SLOVCA members, winners of the 4th edition of the CVCA SLOVCA Awards were awarded at the ceremony in the Grand Mark hotel in Prague.
At the beginning of the year, members of both associations have nominated their candidates in the total of eight categories. Some categories were common Czech – Slovak, some categories were only national. In April, an independent jury, which members included representatives of the EIB, the EIF and major players in the Czech and Slovak PE and VC markets, selected up to five finalists in each category. As a last step, members of CVCA and SLOVCA voted for the winners online until June 7, 2024.
The Special Award for contribution to the PE and VC market went to Michal Nosek. One of the true pioneers of private equity investing in the Czech Republic, who helped establish the Czech Private Equity and Venture Capital Association and subsequently became its first chairman. In 1995, Michal founded one of the first private equity funds in the Czech Republic, Fond rizikového kapitálu (The Venture Capital Fund), which made a total of 11 investments. Michal worked as a member of the board of directors of the VIA foundation for six years. In 2003, Michal and his partners bought a plastic component manufacturer, the company Plastika in Kroměříž, and since then he has been the CEO and Chairman of the Board of this company.
The CVCA & SLOVCA Awards are organized by the Czech Private Equity & Venture Capital Association (CVCA) together with the Slovak Venture Capital & Private Equity Association (SLOVCA). Both associations bring together venture capital and private equity funds, financial institutions, and private equity service providers in the Czech Republic. CVCA and SLOVCA were established with the similar aim of developing and supporting PE/VC sectors and representing their interests in cooperation with Czech, Slovak and European authorities.
FINALISTS IN CATEGORY PE DEAL – CR and SR
1. Sanborn (Genesis Capital)
Sanborn, is an established supplier of machined components from special steel alloys for application in energy, oil&gas and transportation industries. The company has blue-chip global clients such as Siemens and GE. Genesis Capital bought
majority share from two founders (managers) in 2017, and in 2018 brought a new CEO and top management team, which played key role in the company’s success story. Sanborn significantly increased productivity and efficiency, while also achieveing energy consumption savings. During the past five years, Sanborn strengthened its position with major customers, gained new customers, doubled its Revenues and EBITDA and prepared for continued growth even after Genesis exit in November 2023. The investment achieved highly above-average return.
Advisors: Ernst & Young, Kinstellar
2. TES Vsetín (Arx Equity Partners)
TES Vsetín is an engineering company engaged in the manufacturing of custom generators, electric motors, drives and other electrical machines and their system components. ARX acquired a 100% stake in the company in 2019 with the support of the existing management team,
whose members also became minority shareholders alongside ARX as part of the transaction and played a key role in the further growth and development of the company. In 2023 ARX sold its stake to private equity funds Genesis Capital and Avallon, generating an above-average return for its investors.
Advisors: Lincoln International, CMS Cameron McKenna, PWC, Ramboll, Renomia
FINALISTS IN CATEGORY VC INVESTMENTS – CR
Better Stack (KAYA VC)
Unexpected technical outages cost companies a lot of money, and finding an available developer to identify and solve the problem as quickly as possible is often difficult. This process is significantly simplified by the Czech-Slovak startup Better Stack, which automatically monitors the availability, status, and changes of web services. In the event of a defect, it connects developers, helps to find the causes of the problem, and facilitates cooperation to solve it and inform customers. Their customers include in particular: ESET, Rohlík, ePojisteni, Sygic, Applifting,Český rozhlas and Sme.sk. Better Stack has raised USD 10 mio in 2023.
Daytrip (Taiwania Capital, Euroventures, J&T Ventures, N1 Ventures)
Daytrip is a platform connecting local drivers with tourists. They can plan a trip outside the traditional tourist centres. Daytrip primarily acts as a link between cities with stops
in nearby locations. Around 8 000 drivers in more than 100 countries are also guides who introduce tourists to the country’s everyday life, local culture, food, customs and unusual places. Daytrip has raised USD 10 mio in a Series B round led by Taiwania Capital last year. Existing investors: Euroventures, J&T Ventures, and N1 Ventures also participated.
Advisors: Novalia, JŠK, Havel & Partners, Squire Patton Boggs
IP Fabric (One Peak, Senovo, Presto Ventures)
IP Fabric originated as a garage startup that develops advanced software for managing IP network infrastructure and its security. The platform provides information about all network elements and users, offering topological diagrams, automatic documentation, and visibility into the network status, including all protocol connections. Its clients include the largest global companies. Founded by Pavel Bykov, Roman Aprias, and Miroslav Hybl, the startup raised USD 25 mio in funding last year as part of a Series B round.
Keboola (Viking Global Investors, TCF Capital, Reflex Capital, Presto Ventures, Eduard Kučera)
Keboola is a Czech technology startup which cloud platform helps companies simplify access to data. Its clients are able to organize all corporate and external data from any data source in one place in such a way that a person with no technological background can work with it. Investors led by the US fund Viking Global Investors have invested USD 32 mio in the startup of founders Pavel Doležal, Petr Šimeček and Milan Veverka in 2023.
Woltair (Westly Group, Fifth Wall, ArcTern Ventures, Inven, KAYA VC)
Woltair provides the installation of heat pumps or photovoltaics for green home heating through its own digital platform that connects customers, installers and equipment suppliers. The platform enables online ordering on the customer side and efficient management of installation orders for technicians. The company currently operates in the Czech Republic, Poland, Italy and Germany. Woltair has raised EUR 25 mio in 2023
FINALISTS IN CATEGORY VC INVESTMENTS – SR
Cloudtalk (HenQ Capital Partners B.V., KPN Ventures, Lead Ventures, Orbit Capital, Point Nine Management, Presto Ventures)
CloudTalk develops AI-powered telephony and call center software. The platform offers features such as smart dialing, click-to-call, callback and automatic call tracking and recording. The Slovak-Czech startup has more than 2 500 clients in 100 countries, including Revolut, Glovo and DHL. Last year, Cloudtalk closed a EUR 24,4 mio Series B investment round.
Photoneo (Taiwania Fund, VFF, IPM, Alpha Intelligence Capital)
Giving robots eyes, intelligence, and through that, the ability to understand and see their surroundings, so they can automate monotonous and risky jobs and tasks. With such a goal in mind, Photoneo, a startup whose technology solution leverages industrial machine vision and artificial intelligence, was founded a decade ago to help companies from automotive to healthcare to e-commerce and logistics improve the performance and efficiency of manufacturing, fulfillment and assembly processes. Last year’s investment round was EUR 17,8 mio.
Sensoneo (Taiwania Fund, VFF, EIC Fund, Crowdberry)
Sensoneo is a global provider of end-to-end waste management solutions that enable cities and companies to optimize costs, increase environmental friendliness and improve quality of life and services.
Their solution combines proprietary sensors that monitor waste in real-time with basic monitoring equipment and sophisticated software that can design efficient waste routing and collection based on the data collected. The investment round last year was EUR 6,2 mio.
Advisors: Sparring, AKF Legal
SuperScale (VFF, Across Private Investments, Zero One Hundred)
With both data analytics and game management, SuperScale helps developers maximize the business potential of their games. It has worked on over 150 gaming titles and collaborates with entities such as Electronic Arts and Zynga, the most popular
LEGO, and mobile game creators like Fingersoft and Big Fish Games. The company employs 70 people in Bratislava, London and Gdansk and last year raised EUR 5 mio in Series A.
Advisors: LeitnerLeitner
FINALISTS IN CATEGORY VC Exit – CR and SR
GoOut (Miton)
GoOut is the largest ticket seller, but also a cultural guide and social network where users see what events their friends are planning to attend. The Estonian group Piletilevi Group acquired an 80% stake from co-founders
Vojtěch Otevřel and Vojtěch Knyttl last year. With the original three-member management of GoOut, only Lukáš Jandač remains in the company’s ownership structure. The estimated transaction value was CZK 250 mio.
Advisors: Wood&Company, PRK Partners.
Manta (Credo Ventures, Senovo, EBRD Venture Capital)
Startup Manta operates in the field of data flows. In its platform, it generates an overview of all sources of corporate data and how or where they flow within organizations, thereby offering a comprehensive view of the complete data infrastructure and facilitating the work not only of data analysts. Founder Tomáš Krátký and his team gradually raised approximately CZK 1,2 bil. in several investment rounds from investors, including the Czech fund Credo Ventures and Avast co-founder Eduard Kučera. Last year, IBM acquired Manta. According to public sources, the transaction value was CZK 3,5 bil.
Smartlook.com (Reflex Capital, Novira, Airbridge)
Smartlook helps companies understand user behavior on websites and mobile applications. By integrating a recording system with analytical tools, it allows tracking visitor interactions and uncovering errors that hinder successful sales. The startup founded by Petr Janošík and Ondřej Machek was acquired by the American company Cisco last year. The transaction value was estimated to be around CZK 2 bil.
FINALISTS IN CATEGORY IMPACT DEAL – CR and SR
NOLD (Tilia Impact Ventures, DEPO Ventures, Sofia Angels Ventures, Czech Founders Ventures, New Vision 3)
NOLD (from “new/old”) is a Bulgarian e-commerce platform for reselling fashion items. Building on the p2p marketplace concept
of Vinted and Vestiaire Collective, NOLD’s business model allows fashion brands to participate in the platform and receive revenue from re-sales of their items. Nold’s vision is to “close the loop” between second hand resale, and first-hand sales from brands. Because the fashion industry represents 6,65 % of the world’s GHG emissions, NOLD has the potential to make a meaningful change in global context. Nold raised EUR 1 mio in a seed round.
Advisors: DSP law office
Sensoneo (Taiwania Fund, VFF, EIC Fund, Crowdberry)
Sensoneo is a global provider of end-to-end waste management solutions that enable cities and companies to optimize costs, increase respect for the environment and improve quality of life and services.
Their solution combines proprietary sensors that monitor waste in real-time with basic monitoring equipment and sophisticated software that can design efficient waste routing and collection based on the data collected. The investment round last year was EUR 6,2 mio.
Advisors: Sparring, AKF Legal
Woltair (Westly Group, Fifthwall, ArcTern Ventures, Inven, KAYA)
Woltair provides the installation of heat pumps or photovoltaics for green home heating through its own digital platform that connects customers, installers and equipment suppliers. The platform enables online ordering on the customer side and efficient management of installation orders for technicians. The company currently operates in the Czech Republic, Poland, Italy and Germany. Woltair has raised EUR 25 mio in 2023
FINALISTS IN CATEGORY PE FUND MANAGER
Carlyle
Carlyle is one of the world’s largest and most diversified global investment firms, with $425 billion of assets under management. Carlyle has carried out 3 investments in the Czech Republic so far which include Phrase (Memsource), Tescan a Meopta.
Genesis Capital Equity
Czech private equity firm with a 25-year history and over EUR 300 million under management in five successive funds. It provides capital for the financing of acquisitions and supports the growth and development of small and medium-sized companies in the Czech Republic
and the Central European region Since the beginning of 2023, he has completed 8 platform investments, one add-on investment and two successful exits. It has also significantly expanded its team of investment professionals in 2023.
Significant recent investments: Borcad CZ, Hecht Motors, TES Vsetín, XBS Group, PFX Group, STT Servis, AV Media, Kasper Kovo, Schulte Group and GAF. Exits 2023-24: Sanborn, HP Tronic / Datart.
Sandberg Capital
A PE fund focused on investing in growth-stage small and medium-sized companies primarily in the IT, agriculture, retail, telecommunications and education sectors. It currently manages two funds. Significant deals of recent years: TITANS Freelancers, Daktela, Phase.
Versute Investments
Versute Investments is a fund manager that 10 years ago introduced an innovative structure that allows smaller (qualified) investors to invest in the private equity asset class. It currently manages fund of more than EUR 40 million with a focus on small and medium-sized enterprises in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Significant investments in recent years include: DCK Holoubkov Bohemia, Tiyo and GEVORKYAN, which has been listed as manager on the Prague Stock Exchange in 2022 and then on its PRIME market in 2023 and subsequently by way of a dual listing on the Bratislava Stock Exchange.
FINALISTS IN CATEGORY VC FUND MANAGER
Inven Capital
Venture capital fund, which main investors are ČEZ and the European Investment Bank. Within the first and second funds, they have EUR 500 mio available.
Its strategy is to seek opportunities to invest in innovative and fast-growing start-ups, particularly in the climate tech sector in Europe and Israel. Its primary focus is on later-stage growth investment opportunities which have a solid business model proven by realised revenues and long-term growth potential. Tickets are between EUR 5 mio and EUR 30 mio.
Significant investments in recent years include Woltair, Neuron Soundware, Sonnen, Tado, Zolar Hometree, Driivz, Hydrogrid, Forto, CyberX, Wint
KAYA VC
fund based in Prague, which has been active in the technology start-up market since 2011. The fund primarily invests in the early stage with a focus on the CEE region. In the current generation of the fund, it has EUR 90 mio at its disposal within the actual generation of funds. Significant investments in recent years include: Rohlík, Better Stack, Docplanner, Woltair
Tilia Impact Ventures
Tilia Impact Ventures is a Prague-based seed stage impact VC fund. We invest in mission-driven companies from the Central and Eastern Europe region.
We back innovations and technologies from the region which benefit the planet and its people, and which contribute to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. We support visionary founders with catalytic capital, expertise and network. We are impact generalist. We believe the world’s biggest challenges cannot be solved in isolation. This is why we invest in solutions across the impact spectrum supporting transition to sustainable and equitable society, under the two overarching themes of People & Planet, covering verticals from ClimateTech, AgriFoodTech, Circular economy, Mobility and Biodiversity, to InclusiveTech, EdTech and HealthTech.
In 2023, we launched our second fund, of EUR 27 mio (target EUR 32 mio EUR). We currently have a portfolio of 11 impact heroes, our most recent investments were Biocraft (AT), Biocraft (AT), Arbonics (EE), Munch (HU), The Village (PL), NOLD (BG).
Venture to Future Fund
Venture Capital Fund was established by a joint initiative of the European Investment Bank and the Ministry of Finance of the Slovak Republic through Slovak Investment Holding. Its set-up makes it the first venture fund of its type in the CEE region to receive capital from the EIB. The fund’s mission is to support Slovak innovative companies in the early stage with the potential to expand into other European and global markets. Significant investments in recent years include Powerful Medical, Photoneo, Sensoneo, SuperScale and SCAUT.
FINALISTS IN CATEGORY ADVISORS
Česká spořitelna
Česká spořitelna is the bank with the longest tradition in the Czech market. It provides comprehensive solutions to entrepreneurs and businesses: from investment, acquisition, and project financing to support for export activities, advice on mergers and acquisitions, and even listing on bond or stock capital markets. Česká spořitelna has grown into the largest provider of corporate loans in the domestic market. Thanks to the strong backing of Erste Group Bank, Česká spořitelna is able to serve clients also on foreign markets. It is also an investor in private equity funds and actively engages in venture investments.
JŠK
A law firm that has been providing legal advisory services in most areas related to transactions and businesses of commercial companies for 20 years. Operates in the field of private equity, venture capital, finance and banking,
real estate, insurance and others. It is the founding member of the CEE region’s law firm network PONTES and a member of the global law firm network E-IURE. It is regularly recognized by the prestigious Chambers & Partners, Legal 500 and IFLR 1000 rankings.
Deals 2023: Advised Genesis Capital on the acquisition of shares in TES Vsetín, PFX, AV Media and STT Servis. Advised Electron Capital Partners on the co-investment in Meopta-optika.
WOOD & Company
WOOD & Company is a leading financial and investment group active primarily in the Central European market in the areas of securities brokerage, asset management and investment banking services. The investment banking team navigates its clients through complex transaction processes. It provides advisory services in connection with divestitures or acquisitions of companies, equity capital markets transactions (such as initial public offerings) or debt capital raisings. The team advises on landmark transactions with significant international exposure.
THE VOTING IS CLOSED, THANK YOU.
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