Innova Capital, a leading private equity firm based in Central Europe, announced it has successfully closed its latest fund – Innova/7, raising €407 million. This milestone stands as a major milestone in Innova’s history as the latest fund surpassed the initial target of €350 million and the hard cap of €400 million.
Despite navigating through the unstable economic climate in Europe and one of the most challenging fundraising environments in years, the process was completed with resounding success.
This newest fund has attracted the interest of foreign institutional and commercial players from Europe and North America and Polish investors, whose total share is now over 25%. With a strategic focus on three key sectors—business and financial services, industrials, and consumer and lifestyle (including healthcare)—the latest fund prioritizes digitization and modern technology integration in each sector. Moreover, central to the fund’s management is Innova’s new ESG strategy, encapsulated by the ‘Beyond Profit’ ethos.
This approach commits to conducting a thorough analysis of investment targets to identify ESG-driven growth opportunities while also comprehensively assessing associated risks and impacts.
The first of the Innova/7 investments was completed in May 2023, during which Innova acquired NETOPIA Group (a Romanian payment services provider). And subsequently, Innova Capital has also invested in R-GOL – a multi-brand distributor of football merchandise in CEE, EMI Group providing gate and handling systems, Pfleiderer Polska – a wood-based boards manufacturer, as well as Dimark Manufacture S.A. supplying proprietary BHS automation solutions and CloudFerro providing cloud services to the European space sector.
As for the other funds, Innova delivered significant liquidity to its investors with fully divested Innova/5 and the first large exit from Innova/6. Innova plans to use the assets remaining in the sixth fund to make further acquisitions within the existing portfolio (add-ons).
KEY QUOTES:
“The finalization of Innova/7 coincides with our 30th anniversary. Therefore we are embarking 4th decade of our operations with the most substantial capital ever amassed by us in a single fund, a new ESG strategy through which we will build the value of our portfolio companies even more effectively, and new ideas on how to grow our business. We extend our gratitude to both long-standing and recent investors, as well as to institutions, entrepreneurs, and family offices for their confidence in us throughout this journey. Our appreciation also goes to all the partners who have been our pillar of support over the years. An exciting future lies ahead, and we are eager to capitalize on it by aiding Central European companies in their strategic evolution and seizing new growth opportunities.”
- Krzysztof Kulig, Senior Partner, responsible for the fundraising process
