Genesis Private Equity Fund III is receiving strong interest from Czech and international investors. The traditional names such as European Investment Fund, Česká spořitelna or eQ Private Equity of Finland have been joined by Komerční banka's Investment Company (IKS KB), Kooperativa and Česká podnikatelská pojišťovna, and a local family office. The final size of the Fund will likely be increased thanks to the continuing demand from international institutional investors.
One of the newly joining investors, IKS KB brings a new dimension to the investment process by opening the Fund to private individuals. "IKS KB joined forces with Genesis Capital to establish the KB Private Equity Fund through which KB clients (qualified investors) can through the GPEF III for the first time invest into Czech and Slovak medium-sized and small companies. As we observe and follow demand for investments of this type, we have decided to create conditions facilitating the participation of private individuals in the GPEF III fund," explained Petr Slabý, Head of Private Banking at KB.
"Other new partners in GPEF III fund include Kooperativa pojišťovna and Česká podnikatelská pojišťovna, both of them members of the Vienna Insurance Group. The investment into GPEF III marks our entry into a new class of assets as part of our ongoing effort to seek new opportunities to enhance the value of our investment portfolio. The private equity segment offers above-average long-term return in combination with a reasonable degree of risk,"said Petr Zapletal, a member of Kooperativa's board of directors. Česká spořitelna, a key investor in GPEF III, has now entrusted its funds to Genesis Capital for a third time.
"Our partnership with Genesis Capital, which has lasted since as early as 2003, when we began to invest into Czech and Slovak businesses through the GPEF funds, allows us to continually develop support for companies from the SME segment. We value Genesis Capital as a suitable partner from the point of view of good professional attitude of their team of investment managers, as well as above-average returns from our investments. These factors have persuaded us to continue the partnership within the framework of the new GPEF III fund," comments František Havrda, CEO of Česká spořitelna's Funding & Advisory Group