TCV-backed Grupa Pracuj files for IPO

TCV acquired a minority stake in Grupa Pracuj in June 2017, deploying equity via TCV IX, according to Unquote Data. The USD 2.5bn fund held a final close in August 2016 and generally deploys equity tickets of up to USD 250m, backing growing technology companies. Grupa Pracuj was valued at around EUR 400m at the time of the funding round, according to contemporary press reports.

TCV owns a 27% stake in Grupa Pracuj, with the majority owned by management, including CEO Przemyslaw Gacek.

Grupa Pracuj was founded in 2000 and employed 700 staff at the time of TCV's investment. The company now has 800 employees and operates via three brands: Polish recruitment service Pracuj.pl, which generates 80% of the group's revenues; Ukrainian recruitment platform Robota.ua, which accounts for 12%; and recruitment management system eRecruiter, which generates 8% of the company's turnover. Grupa Pracuj launched blue-collar recruitment platform Dryg.pl and IT sector-focused theprotocol.it earlier in 2021.

The firm's roots lie in Poland and the Ukraine, with its headquarters in Warsaw, but its software is used in more than 40 countries, according to TCV's website.

According to a statement, Grupa Pracuj posted revenues of PLN 299.3m (EUR 65.3m) in 2020 from its contracts with clients, versus PLN 367.5m (EUR 80m) in 2019.

Goldman Sachs, Citi and Trigon are advising on the IPO, according to Unquote sister publication Mergermarket.

Recruitment software has seen significant investment from VCs in recent years, with more than EUR 335m raised across 11 early-stage and growth deals since January 2020, according to Unquote Data. Germany-based Personio has raised two rounds since January 2020, the latest of which was a USD 125m Series D led by Index Ventures in February 2021. In June, UK-based Beamery raised a USD 138m round led by Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board (OTPP).

Sourcing temporary staffing has been key to the continuation of essential retailers and services during the pandemic, benefiting business models such as that of Spain-based digital staffing agency JobAndTalent, which raised a EUR 88m Series C round in January 2021.

Q2 2021 was an exceptionally busy period for PE and VC-backed IPOs in Europe, with 14 flotations completed totalling EUR 10.5bn. Q1 2021 saw 12 IPOs with an aggregate value of EUR 20.8bn, bolstered by large flotations including VC-backed Auto1 and Advent International's Integer.pl.

The EUR 31.4bn aggregate value of PE and VC-backed IPOs to date in 2021 has therefore already exceeded the recent EUR 22.2bn high-point seen in 2019.

By volume, 2017 was a record year for IPOs in Europe, with 47 flotations; if IPOs continue at the current pace in 2021, this year could well exceed this total.

According to Unquote sister publication Mergermarket, current PE and VC-backed businesses in the IPO pipeline include UK-based holiday accommodation booking platform Travel Chapter, a portfolio company of ECI Partners since January 2019. An IPO is also being considered for Italy-based electronic tolling service Telepass, which was acquired by Partners Group in a EUR 2bn deal in October 2020.

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