Enterprise Investors invests in an internet company and announces its strategy for investing in the Polish internet sector

The investment is part of Enterprise Investors’ strategy of involvement in the Polish IT/internet sector and will be followed by further investments in internet companies. Funds managed by Enterprise Investors are the largest venture capital investor in this sector, and plan to invest about 20% of their capital (up to $60 million) in IT/internet companies in the next three to four years.

Enterprise Investors is the leading venture capital/private equity management firm active in Poland and the CEE region. Since 1990 the funds managed by Enterprise Investors have invested $550 million in 70 Polish companies representing different sectors.

The funds were the first to invest and successfully introduce to the Warsaw Stock Exchange the Polish IT company ComputerLand, and have been investing very actively on the Polish IT market since late 1998. EI has seven IT/internet companies in its portfolio and the total amount invested in the sector has reached $30 million.

Enterprise Investors is in the process of raising a new fund with capital of $300 million. The new fund will invest in different sectors of the Polish economy as well as in other CEE countries.

e-point SA is a leading Polish internet company. Established in 1996, e-point offers e-business solutions including intranet, extranet, e-commerce, web design and internet-based marketing. The company’s services involve analysis of customer needs and strategic planning, including design and implementation of complex solutions.

Customers for whom e-point has created web pages and other internet solutions include major financial institutions (Bank Handlowy, Raiffeisen Bank Polska, ING Group), international companies (Lucent Technologies, Henkel, Bosch), public administration bodies (Polish Parliament, National Bank of Poland), and leading Polish businesses (Polfa Kutno, Opoczno).

The company’s revenues amounted to PLN 1.5 million in 1999, up by 400% compared to the previous year. Sales are projected at PLN 18.5 million ($4.4 million) and net income is expected to reach PLN 2.6 million ($0.6 million).

“Faced with the development of e-business in Poland and in the world, we decided to focus on the activity in this segment. Since we have experience and a team of 40 professionals we decided to increase our potential by raising the additional capital necessary to keep our leading position on the market. We chose Enterprise Investors as our partner because it is a venture capital company with experience and significant investments in our industry, and has a lead position in the Central European capital markets. The unique capabilities of the Enterprise Investors team will help us choose the right development strategy,” said Marcin Żuchowicz, managing partner of e-point.

The company will continue to supply strategic internet solutions, and will specialize in designing, creating and implementing solutions enabling conventional companies as well as new internet companies to exploit the opportunities created by e-business. Apart from e-commerce solutions, these will include extranets serving electronic distribution channels, as well as intranet systems that will optimize the flow of information and facilitate collaboration within organizations. The company will also provide internet marketing to its customers to guarantee the commercial success of the solutions designed for them. The capital invested by the Polish Enterprise Fund will be used for team development and training, as well as for the purchase of hardware and software.