Enterprise Investors acquires Wema

Polish Enterprise Fund VI, a private equity fund managed by Enterprise Investors, has purchased a controlling stake of 60% in Wema, for a total of € 46 million. Wema is Poland’s leading bathroom retailer and wholesaler.

Wema S.A. (www.wema.pl)
Founded almost 20 years ago in Rumia, a small city on the Polish coast, Wema was originally a family business. Currently, the Company sells ceramic tiles, bathroom sanitary ware, bathtubs, showers, and bathroom accessories through a network of 15 own and 3 franchised stores located in northern and central Poland, and is Poland’s largest specialist bathroom retailer.

Besides, the founders managed to create one of the largest wholesale firms of its kind in Poland.

In 2007, sales amounted to almost PLN 200 million (approx. € 60 million) and net profit was PLN 16 million (€ 5 million).

Enterprise Investors (www.ei.com.pl)
Enterprise Investors is one of the oldest and largest private equity firms in Central and Eastern Europe. Active since 1990, the company manages funds with capital exceeding € 1.6 billion. These funds have invested € 1.1 billion in 108 companies in Poland and other Central and Eastern European countries, and exited 91 investments with total proceeds of over € 1.3 billion.

Enterprise Investors has built up significant experience as the leading private equity player in Poland’s consumer goods and retail sectors, having invested € 395 million in consumer goods. In the past EI developed several retail chains, including the Polish supermarket chain Emperis (formerly Eldorado, with Stokrotka and Groszek supermarkets) and Apteki Polskie (chain of pharmacies).

Enterprise Invests has financed several expansion projects: the Sfinks chain of restaurants, the W.Kruk and Deni Cler upscale jewellery and fashion salons, and Artima, the Romanian food retailer (sold to Carrefour in 2007). As an investor in the Polish fashion retailer LPP, Enterprise Investors helped to launch its brands (Reserved, Cropp) in Poland and other CEE countries. Enterprise Investors also owned 100% of Nomi (Polish chain of DIY stores).