Genesis backs IT specialist CN Group

Unquote understands that a debt package was provided by Komerční Banka to support the deal.

The GP deployed capital from Genesis Private Equity Fund III, which held a final close on €82m in September 2016. This is the seventh investment made by the fund, which deploys equity tickets between €4-8m. The vehicle is now more than 50% deployed, the GP told Unquote.

Genesis is acquiring the company from financial investors and the CN Group CEO, Michal Širica, who is now retiring. Širica and one of the sellers, Steen Westh Nielsen, will stay on with the company for a transitional period as members of the supervisory board, while the rest of the management team will continue to lead the business and retain the remaining 4% stake in the company.

CN Group plans to use the fresh capital and the support of Genesis to focus on further expanding its services, primarily in mechanical design engineering. Select add-on acquisitions of companies based in the region and complementary to CN's current business model will also be part of the future strategic development.

Company
Founded in 1994 and based in Prague, CN is an IT company providing near-shore software programming, QA management, testing and computer-aided modelling (CAD). The business develops outsourced software for its customers in Scandinavia, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the UK, and offers extensive management, testing and training services.

CN's client base includes businesses active in a variety of sectors such as finance, aviation, publishing, security and telecoms. The company employs 280 staff across its production centres located in Prague, Bratislava, Zlín and Bucharest and generated revenues of €13m in 2018.

People
Genesis Capital – Jan Tauber (managing partner).

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