Daniel Večeřa, the CEO of HP TRONIC who has become the Chairman of the Board of Directors, comments on the transaction: “The new business represents an entity on the Czech and Slovak markets with revenue in excess of CZK 15 billion per year and a high-quality chain of more than 130 specialised electronics shops that are visited by more than 22 million customers annually. Our objective is to set up a stable, efficient and profitable player with a share of up to 20% on the Czech and Slovak markets. While this will be a rather ambitious project, I believe that we will manage it well, not least because both DATART and HP TRONIC share a customer care philosophy based on the same values.”
“For the Genesis Private Equity Fund III, this is a major investment with great potential on an increasingly consolidated market. In addition, it has multiple overlaps into other Central European countries,” Ondřej Vičar, Partner at Genesis Capital, an advisor to the Genesis fund, adds in regard to the transaction.
The transaction also involves a change in the Datart management team. Pavel Bádal, the CEO and co-founder of the firm, has ended his involvement in Datart. The newly appointed CEO is Tomáš Balík, who was previously holding the position of Purchasing Director.
“The process of integration of both companies will continue according to the plan that we will complete early next year, following the Christmas season which is the key economic period for both companies,” Daniel Večeřa adds.
About DATART INTERNATIONAL
DATART INTERNATIONAL is a leading consumer electronics retailer. The company has been operating in the Czech and Slovak markets since 1990. The chain currently consists of 49 shops, six Datart kitchen studios and two e-shops. The company employs 1,200 people and has its own distribution centre. DATART posted an operating profit of CZK 43.4 million and a net turnover of CZK 5.8 billion in the fiscal year 2016/2017. This year, DATART has been continuing its expansion through upgrading its existing stores and opening new ones.
About HP TRONIC
HP TRONIC is a Czech company with more than 25 years of history, a leading retailer in the market for home appliances, consumer electronics, computers and mobile phones in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The group operates the Euronics retail chain which, in addition to 120 brick-and-mortar stores, has three storage facilities and its own e-shop. The portfolio of products the company places on the Czech, Slovak and many other European markets includes products by the ETA, GoGen, JVC and Hyundai brands. The HP TRONIC group also includes one of the biggest online shops on the Czech market, Kasa.cz, and its Slovak counterpart, Hej.sk, which is one of the biggest players in Slovakia. In addition, HP TRONIC offers its own instalment sales system and operates the Valachy Resort with the Lanterna, Horal and Galik hotels, the Razula ski resort and a golf course in Velké Karlovice.
HP TRONIC has more than 1,400 employees and achieved a turnover of CZK 9.1 billion and a profit of CZK 104 million last year.
Daniel Večeřa, the CEO of HP TRONIC, won the Czech Business Personality of 2015 award bestowed by the Czech Confederation of Commerce and Tourism.
About Genesis Capital
Genesis Capital provides advisory services to private equity funds offering access to financing for growth and development of small and medium-sized companies in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Since its foundation in 1999, Genesis Capital has provided consultancy to four private equity funds with a cumulative size exceeding EUR 170 million. The fourth fund, Genesis Private Equity Fund III (GPEF III) with a size of over EUR 80 million, is currently open for investments. Similar to its predecessors, GPEF III will focus on investments into small and medium-sized enterprises in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, with the option to allocate part of the resources also to direct investments in Poland, Hungary and Austria. Investors in the GPEF III are predominantly international financial institutions and investment companies or, as the case may be, their local subsidiaries, such as European Investment Fund (EIF), Česká spořitelna (a member of the Erste Group), Investiční kapitálová společnost KB (IKS KB, a member of the Amundi Group), Kooperativa pojišťovna and Česká podnikatelská pojišťovna (both members of Vienna Insurance Group), Finland-based eQ Private Equity fund-of-fund, a pension fund of a renowned global company, and a Czech family office.