Enterprise Investors finalizes acquisition of Jaan/Nordglass Group
Warsaw, 28 June 2007 — Polish Enterprise Fund VI (PEF VI), a private equity fund managed by Enterprise Investors (EI), has finalized the purchase of 100% of the Jaan/Nordglass Group
in a leveraged buyout with transaction debt provided by Bank Zachodni WBK.
Enterprise Investors structured the transaction as a management buyin (MBI), retaining and strengthening the existing management team. Piotr Gonet, a seasoned executive with 15 years’ experience in the manufacturing sector, joins
the Jaan/Nordglass Group as CEO. Mr. Gonet’s prior appointment was as president of Okfens (a Polish subsidiary of Saint-Gobain Glass), while previously he was president of a number of listed companies and international syndicates.
The Jaan/Nordglass Group is one of Europe’s leading manufacturers of automotive glazing and its largest distributor in Poland. Founded in 1991, the Jaan/Nordglass Group consists of three companies: Jaan Automotive Glass, Nordglass II and Glas.
Nordglass II and Glas operate two modern plants located in Koszalin and Słupsk (special economic zones in north-western Poland) that focus on technologically advanced short-series production. The plants manufacture windshields for almost all passenger car models as well as large windshields for trucks, buses and trains. The annual output is about 700,000 units,
of which about half is exported to western Europe.
Based on a franchise agreement with Belron, the global leader in vehicle glass repair and replacement, Jaan Automotive Glass operates a network of windshield fitment centers under the Jaan Autoglass trademark. The Jaan Autoglass network has
a nationwide reach and is the undisputed market leader in Poland. Jaan also operates 30 regional warehouses covering the whole country.
The Jaan/Nordglass Group employs more than 700 people. In 2006 the Group achieved sales of more than PLN 140 million
(€37 million) and an operating profit of about PLN 25 million (€6.5 million). In the first half of 2007 sales grew by 20% year on year.
EI’s advisors to this transaction were Weil, Gotshal & Manges and Ernst & Young.
Enterprise Investors has been active since 1990 and is the largest private equity investor in Central and Eastern Europe.
The firm has raised six funds totaling €1.6 billion. To date, these funds have invested €1 billion in 104 companies from a range of sectors and have exited 89 investments with total proceeds of over €1.2 billion. Enterprise Investors has invested in various manufacturing companies and has been present in the sector since inception.