Enterprise Investors (EI), the central European private equity firm, has announced its exit from regional fashion retailer LPP in a transaction valued at PLN 196 million ($61 million; €50 million).
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The firm sold its 13 percent stake in the company to a range of Polish and international investors on the Warsaw Stock Exchange, receiving a multiple of 4.5 times its original investment. This represents an IRR of 90 percent.
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LPP sells clothing products under brands such as “Reserved” and “Cropp Town” in over 170 stores in central and eastern Europe.
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EI’s Polish Enterprise Fund IV acquired its stake in the company in 2003 for a price of PLN 51 million. It acquired 15,000 shares as part of a new equity issue in April that year, and a further 200,000 shares the following month British financial investor Grangefont Ltd. At the time, LPP had only seven stores.
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The firm said in a statement that the company’s sales were expected to reach PLN 750 million this year, almost double the figure at the time of its investment.
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Established in 1990, Enterprise Investors manages five funds with capital totalling more than $1.1 billion. It has made investments totalling $955 million in more than 100 companies in Central and Eastern Europe, and has exited 77 investments with total proceeds of $956 million.
Enterprise Investors exits LPP
The Warsaw-based buyout firm has sold its stake in listed central European fashion retailer LPP on the Warsaw stock exchange for PLN 196 million.