About
Enterprise Investors is the oldest and one of the largest private equity firms in Central and Eastern Europe. We specialize in mid-market succession-driven buyout transactions and provision of expansion financing to high-growth enterprises across a range of sectors. Active since 1990, we have raised ten funds. These funds have invested and committed EUR 2.3 billion in 157 companies and have exited 140 of them.
Who we are
We pursue a diversified approach to the industries we invest in. Since 2023 we have been investing the capital of Enterprise Investors Fund IX. This fund, like its predecessors, finances mid-market buyouts and growth companies in sectors such as consumer products and retail, financial services and healthcare that are driven by the convergence of CEE’s domestic consumption with Western Europe. EIF IX also invests in sectors boosted by CEE’s growing internationalization and competitive cost position, including IT, industrial products and business process outsourcing. Poland accounts for approximately three-quarters of all our investments; the rest is deployed across the growing economies of the CEE EU member states.
Enterprise Investors has exited 140 companies. This number includes 35 IPOs of portfolio companies completed on the stock exchanges in Warsaw (WSE), Prague (PSE), Vilnius (Nasdaq) and New York (NYSE).
We specialize in proprietary deal sourcing. Our team of 30 investment professionals – the most experienced in the region – has a unique combination of skills and expertise bolstered by a track record of consistent performance. The firm operates through six offices located in Warsaw, Bratislava, Bucharest, Prague, Zagreb and New York.
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10 funds
raised
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EUR 2.3 billion
invested and committed in 157 companies
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140 exits
completed
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35 IPOs
of portfolio companies
How we operate
At Enterprise Investors we combine industry expertise with local market experience. Our emphasis is on creating sustainable value that will withstand the test of time. We are prudent in our investment strategies and use leverage conservatively. We invest between EUR 20 million and EUR 75 million in established companies. Our stake ranges from a large minority position to full ownership and we take a long-term perspective, our involvement typically lasting between five and eight years.
We commit our full range of resources to the success of each portfolio company. Partnering with management teams, we help companies work out strategy, conceptualize and implement optimal financing structures and recruit top executive talent. Our investment team builds direct relationships with portfolio companies and provides hands-on support via supervisory board positions. We achieve lasting change, preparing companies for success even beyond our investment horizon.
ESG
Through our investments we have created thousands of jobs, and our portfolio companies service millions of customers across a broad spectrum of industries. Therefore, our activities have a considerable impact. With this in mind, we never invest in enterprises engaged in activities that are detrimental to the local and global society, environment or economy. At EI we systematically develop in-house environmental, social and governance (ESG) guidelines, embedding them in all our activities. Working with our portfolio companies we strive to improve their compliance and business ethics standards, reduce their environmental footprint and develop beneficial relationships with those they interact with or affect.
Our positive impact extends far beyond our investment portfolio, as we advocate sustainable business practices within the private equity industry and the broader business community. In 2015 EI became the first private equity signatory to the United Nations Global Compact in CEE. We are also actively committed to communicating ESG goals, practices and tools among the members of the Polish Private Equity Association.
Refining our approach
As a private equity fund manager it is our priority to increase the value of our portfolio companies. We invest in the fastest-changing industries such as consumer products and services, IT, financial services, telecoms and healthcare. In the process, we continually refine our investment approach in line with developments in Central and Eastern Europe.
We support initiatives that shape the highest business standards of the region’s economies, not least as co-founders and active members of key private equity industry organizations in Poland, the Czech Republic, Romania, Slovakia and countries of southeastern Europe. Our success in combining investment efficiency with a positive impact on local communities has earned us widespread trust and respect.
Enterprise Investors’ contribution to Poland’s political and economic transformation has been recognized by the foremost public figures of the last three decades. We are honored that our past and present leaders have been decorated with the highest state awards by Polish presidents Lech Wałęsa, Aleksander Kwaśniewski and Bronisław Komorowski. Crucially, we remain motivated by the strong belief we have in our continued future success.
Having established five banks, including Poland’s first mortgage bank, Enterprise Investors laid the foundations of the Polish financial services market. Our firm has also supported the development of Poland’s capital markets, floating more companies on the Warsaw Stock Exchange than any other PE investor active in the region. Many of EI’s portfolio companies – such as AVG Technologies, Danwood, intive, Kruk, LPP and PBKM to name a few – have grown into regional and international leaders.
Refining our approach
As a private equity fund manager it is our priority to increase the value of our portfolio companies. We invest in the fastest-changing industries such as consumer products and services, IT, financial services, telecoms and healthcare. In the process, we continually refine our investment approach in line with developments in Central and Eastern Europe.
From left: President of Poland B. Komorowski presenting R.G. Faris with the Commander’s Cross with Star of the Order of Merit
We support initiatives that shape the highest business standards of the region’s economies, not least as co-founders and active members of key private equity industry organizations in Poland, the Czech Republic, Romania, Slovakia and countries of southeastern Europe. Our success in combining investment efficiency with a positive impact on local communities has earned us widespread trust and respect.
Enterprise Investors’ contribution to Poland’s political and economic transformation has been recognized by the foremost public figures of the last three decades. We are honored that our past and present leaders have been decorated with the highest state awards by Polish presidents Lech Wałęsa, Aleksander Kwaśniewski and Bronisław Komorowski. Crucially, we remain motivated by the strong belief we have in our continued future success.
From left: Z. Brzeziński, former special security advisor to the US president; L. Wałęsa, former president of Poland; J.P. Birkelund, EI founder; L. Balcerowicz, former deputy prime minister of Poland; R.G. Faris, EI founder
Having established five banks, including Poland’s first mortgage bank, Enterprise Investors laid the foundations of the Polish financial services market. Our firm has also supported the development of Poland’s capital markets, floating more companies on the Warsaw Stock Exchange than any other PE investor active in the region. Many of EI’s portfolio companies – such as AVG Technologies, Danwood, intive, Kruk, LPP and PBKM to name a few – have grown into regional and international leaders.
J. Siwicki receiving the Commander’s Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta
History
1990
Foundation of Polish-American Enterprise Fund
1991
Polish-American Enterprise Fund’s first investment in Poland
1992
EI raises Polish Private Equity Funds I & II with total capital of USD 151 million
1994
First IPO of a company from EI’s portfolio on the WSE
PPABank1997
EI raises Polish Enterprise Fund with USD 164 million in capital
1999
EI’s first investment outside Poland
Orange Romania2000
EI raises Polish Enterprise Fund IV with USD 217 million in capital
2001
First investment in Slovakia
Orange Slovakia2004
First investment in Bulgaria
Bulgarian Telecommunications Company2004
EI raises Polish Enterprise Fund V with capital of EUR 300 million
2004
EI opens an office in Bucharest
2005
First investment in the Czech Republic
AVG Technologies2006
EI raises Polish Enterprise Fund VI with capital of
EUR 658 million
2007
EI opens an office in Bratislava
2007
First investment in Lithuania
Novaturas2008
EI raises Enterprise Venture Fund I with total capital of EUR 100 million
2009
EI opens an office in Prague
2010
First investment in Hungary
Netrisk.hu2010
First investment in Estonia
Nortal2012
First IPO on the NYSE of a company from EI’s portfolio
AVG Technologies2012
EI raises Polish Enterprise Fund VII with capital of EUR 314 million
2015
First IPO on the Prague Stock Exchange of a company from EI’s portfolio
Kofola ČeskoSlovensko2016
First investment in Slovenia
Intersport ISI2017
EI raises Polish Enterprise Fund VIII with total capital of EUR 498 million
2018
Thirty-fifth IPO from EI’s portfolio and the first on Nasdaq Vilnius
Novaturas2018
First investment in Croatia
PAN-PEK
EI opens a Zagreb office covering the entire Adria region
2021
First public-to-private transaction
PragmaGO2023
EI raises Enterprise Investors Fund IX