Enterprise Investors’ venture capital fund invest in Bio-Profil
Warsaw, 16 February 2009 — Enterprise Venture Fund I (EVF), the venture capital fund managed by Enterprise Investors (EI), has bought out 36% of Bio-Profil, a Polish sales and marketing company specialized in promoting and selling dermo-cosmetics and aesthetic medicine products. The fund has the option to increase its ownership of the company up to a 49% stake. This €3.2 million transaction
is the second investment completed by the EI-managed venture capital fund since its closing last fall.
Bio-Profil is the leader in selling aesthetic medical products in Poland and is well established on the pharmaceutical dermo-cosmetics market. The company has the exclusive right to represent major global brands such as SVR, Uriage and Filorga in Poland, and has the widest product portfolio in the country. Bio-Profil has been growing at an average rate of 35% p.a. for the last few years, doubling
its scale of operations between 2006 and 2008. In 2008 Bio-Profil’s sales amounted to PLN 20 million (approx. €5.7 million).
“Bio-Profil is in an excellent position to grow further very dynamically. The company is run by a team of experienced and visionary managers who have the competencies and drive to select the world’s top dermatological products, win new exclusive contracts with their producers and successfully promote these products to increase Bio-Profil’s market share in Poland. In addition, the two-digit growth of the dermo-cosmetic market is expected to continue boosting the company’s fast expansion,” said Rafał Bator, Enterprise Investors partner who heads EI’s venture capital fund.
“Ever since Bio-Profil was established 10 years ago, the firm has gone from strength to strength, thanks in no small part to our experienced team. Our supreme market position demonstrates the validity of our strategy, for which we succeeded in gaining the full support of our international partners and our demanding customers. Inviting a financial investor to the company will enable us to further accelerate our market expansion,” said Joanna Jeziorska, co-founder and president of Bio-Profil.
Enterprise Investors has been active since 1990 and is one of the largest private equity and venture capital investors in Central and Eastern Europe. The firm manages seven private equity and venture capital funds totaling €1.7 billion. To date, these funds have invested €1.2 billion in 111 companies across a range of sectors and have exited 91 investments with total proceeds
of close to €1.4 billion.
Enterprise Venture Fund I is EI’s first venture capital fund, with a total size of €100 million. It is the largest fund of its type in Poland and in the CEE region. EVF’s investments range from €1 million to €5 million per project. The fund finances the expansion of small and medium-sized enterprises operating in the technology sector as well as in traditional sectors in Poland and other Central and Eastern European countries. The fund’s first investment was the acquisition of a 30% stake in Dystrybucja Polska
in December 2008.