Enterprise Investors acquires 42.5% of Kofola-Hoop in a record public tender offer on the WSE
Warsaw, 13 November 2008 — Polish Enterprise Fund VI (PEF VI), a private equity fund managed by Enterprise Investors (EI), has announced its acquisition of a 42.46% stake in Kofola-Hoop, one of the most significant producers of non-alcoholic beverages in Central and Eastern Europe. PEF VI acquired the stake in a PLN 480 million (approx. €140 million) public tender offer. The acquisition is the largest transaction ever conducted in the FMCG sector in Central and Eastern Europe by a private equity fund. It is also one of the largest public tender offers ever announced on the Warsaw Stock Exchange (WSE).
The offer took place between October and November 2008. It proved very successful, as Polish Enterprise Fund VI (acting through its wholly controlled subsidiary CED Group S.a.r.l.) acquired almost all the shares of the company that were for sale, with only 0.5% remaining as free float. PEF VI’s acquisition of Kofola-Hoop shares was partly leveraged with bank debt.
“Kofola-Hoop has been growing dynamically over the last few years and we expect it to continue its growth after the merger which took place last spring. We believe in the company’s capability to become the key player on the CEE non-alcoholic beverages market over the next few years. This is why we decided to pay a fair premium over the market price for our shares in the firm,” said Enterprise Investors Partner Jacek Woźniak who is in charge of this investment.
Kofola-Hoop SA is one of the most significant producers of non-alcoholic beverages in Central and Eastern Europe. With an annual turnover (excluding the Russian market) of nearly PLN 1.2 billion (approx. €350 million), Kofola-Hoop is the third largest company in its sector on the Polish and Czech markets, and second in Slovakia. In Slovakia, where consumers prefer Kofola to Coke and Pepsi, the company leads on the carbonated soft drinks market. Kofola-Hoop’s production is carried out in eight factories located in Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Russia. The company employs more than 2,600 people. Kofola-Hoop is controlled by Kofola’s managers and founders, who directly and indirectly (through KSM Investment) own 57% of the company’s shares.
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 funds totaling €1.7 billion. These funds have invested €1.2 billion in 109 companies from a range of sectors and have exited 91 investments with total proceeds of €1.4 billion.