Genesis Capital, one of the largest providers of private equity in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, has exited its investment in Profimedia after almost five years. Megiedon, a member of the Scandal Media structure majority-owned by entrepreneur Karel Vágner, has bought sixty percent interest. The new owner acquired the remaining 40% through the purchase of the interest of Petr Novák, founder of Profimedia.
Profimedia is the largest photo bank in Central Europe and number one on the Czech and Slovak markets. Genesis Capital entered the company through a GPEF II fund investment in June 2010. Profimedia applied the resources obtained to finance its expansion abroad. “In this regard the acquisition of Red Dot in 2011 was of key importance, as we became the 100% owner of one of the leading suppliers of photo content in Hungary, Croatia, Slovenia, Serbia and Bulgaria,” said Pavel Macků, General Manager of Profimedia.CZ since 2012.
“Thanks to the highly knowledgeable management the company received and the systematic search for growth opportunities, Profimedia managed to overcome the temporary slump on the Czech and Slovak markets, and actually increased its market share on them. At the same time, the company improved its business in Central and Eastern Europe, which was positively reflected in our company’s overall results,”said Jan Tauber, Director of Genesis Capital, describing the growth of the company.
About Genesis Capital s.r.o.
Genesis Capital s.r.o. offers financing for the development and growth of small and medium-sized enterprises in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Through the private equity funds it operates, Genesis Capital has already supported more than 30 companies, many of which have reached the top of their respective fields thanks to this partnership. Genesis Capital has secured more than CZK 2 billion for the development of Czech and Slovak companies to date.
Since its establishment in 1999, Genesis Capital has managed three private equity funds with a cumulative volume of nearly EUR 100 million. Two of these have already finished their activities and the capitalized means have been returned to the investors. The third fund has also already provided the whole of its available capital to Czech and Slovak enterprises. Genesis Capital is now preparing to open another private equity fund (Genesis Private Equity Fund III), which will once again be aimed at investments in small and medium-sized enterprises in the Czech Republic and in Slovakia.
Genesis Capital holds a share in: Servodata, VYDIS, KS Klima-Service, JRC Czech, AZ KLIMA, GTH catering, Roltechnik, Sieza, Swell and 3070 Group
About Profimedia.CZ a.s.
The Czech company Profimedia.CZ a. s., founded in 2000, is the largest photo bank in Central Europe. It sells over 20,000 photos per month and its database contains over 100 million photos. At the present it operates in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Ukraine and Romania. It cooperates with over 121 publishers in CEE and it regularly supplies 526 magazines and newspapers in eleven European countries from its archives.
In the advertising and graphic design segment Profimedia collaborates with 300 advertising agencies. Its partners include companies such as Corbis, National Geographic, AFP and over 200 other specialized photo banks.
Profimedia has around thirty employees, mainly sales staff and IT managers. It is based in Pardubice. Today it has a market share of two-thirds on the Czech and Slovak media market. Profimedia is currently the largest visual news partner for the majority of publishers.