Enterprise Investors buys a controlling stake in Netrisk.hu
Budapest, 1 July 2010 — Enterprise Investors (EI), one of the largest private equity and venture capital management firms in Central and Eastern Europe, has signed its first investment in Hungary. Polish Enterprise Fund VI (PEF VI), the private equity fund managed by Enterprise Investors, will acquire a controlling stake in Netrisk.hu, the leading online non-life insurance broker in Hungary, in a buyout transaction worth €23 million (HUF 6.4 billion). As part of the deal EI is committing to further expand Netrisk.hu in Hungary and the CEE region.
Netrisk.hu is the number one independent online insurance broker in Hungary, distributing non-life insurance products – CTP insurance, CASCO, home insurance and travel insurance. The company was founded by its CEO and co-owner Zsolt Haraszti 15 years ago. In 2001 Netrisk.hu was the first company in Hungary that enabled users to compare insurance services and prices online and to activate the selected insurance immediately. Although many other companies offering similar services have appeared on the Hungarian market since then, Netrisk.hu has not only secured its leading position in the online insurance business, but its market share kept growing last year, just as it had done in 2008. Netrisk.hu now has 770,000 registered users. More than half of all car owners use the internet to buy compulsory car insurance in Hungary and more than 50% of those customers choose Netrisk.hu.
“Enterprise Investors had been looking for investment opportunities in Hungary for some time now. We are pleased to have found an excellent company in Netrisk.hu as our first investment in the country. The company has an effective business model and is a clear leader in its market. The management has proved it knows how to achieve exponential growth in the number of satisfied customers by providing value to them and thus growing the company. We will be looking for other Hungarian firms in the future that want not only to attract private equity or venture capital, but also to gain a reliable business partner with 20 years’ experience in successfully developing high-achieving companies”, said Dariusz Prończuk, Managing Partner and Board Member of Enterprise Investors.
“In Enterprise Investors we’ve found an investor that has an excellent reputation, strong regional presence and unquestionable expertise in the financial sector. With the help of this investor we will not only boost the further development of our services, but also expand in Hungary and in the Central and Eastern European region. This is an exceptional opportunity for us to grow this one-time family enterprise into a regional corporation in the coming years”, said Zsolt Haraszti, founder and Managing Director of Netrisk.hu
“With the Netrisk.hu transaction signed, Enterprise Investors is planting its flag in Hungary. This is a highly attractive investment for us, as many attributes of the company appeal to a private equity investor”, said Tamás Tüske, Country Director of Enterprise Investors in Hungary.