2023
Innova Capital raises over EUR 324m for Fund 7
Innova Capital, a leading private equity firm in Central Europe, has confirmed that it has raised over EUR 324 million in the interim closing of the Innova/7 fund. The amount represents more than 90% of the target set at EUR 350 million. It also means that the newest fund has grown by more than EUR 100 million over the last nine months, despite the unstable economic situation in Europe and the current challenges raising capital in the CEE private equity market. Innova will continue to fundraise in the coming months, while working on new investment opportunities.
The latest Innova’s fund has attracted the interest of foreign investors, including commercial and international financial institutions, as well as Polish investors, whose share is now close to 30%. In May of this year, the Innova/7 fund completed its first deal - NETOPIA Group, a Romanian payment services provider, thus increasing its presence in the local financial services market
“Over the past few months, we have been very much focused on continuing to fundraise and showing the investors the huge potential of Innova’s investment strategy. We are clearly in for an intense but interesting time ahead as we look to close the seventh fund and continue working on the deployment of the capital entrusted to us. The first transaction has already been successfully completed, and we are keen to finalise the next two – which we are currently working on – by the end of the first half of the year,” says Krzysztof Kulig, Senior Partner responsible for fundraising.
Innova’s strategy for the latest fund is to focus on sectors such as industry, business/financial services and the consumer lifestyle products and services market, taking into account modern technologies and digitalisation in those areas. ESG standards will also play a key role in the value creation of portfolio companies. The fund’s investment model is based on two types of transactions – founder succession and sector consolidation, including a Platform+ strategy.
To date, Innova has fully divested five funds, with nine investments having been made so far within Innova/6. Innova plans to use the assets remaining in the sixth fund to make further acquisitions within the existing portfolio (add-ons).
