Zago Capital raising €100m
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polski
Zago Capital, a newly-established polish investment group with a focus on wellness, fitness, personal care, organics, nutrition, dietary supplements, micro-biome and cosmetic products, is planning to raise €100m by mid-2023. The fund now already has 10-15% of this amount. Most of the funds will be most likely invested in Poland, where it receives the most applications – the company is targeting about 30 companies, including dietary supplements – the sector, which is now enjoying the best situation in the PMR’s history of the research.
The fund was launched officially a few months ago by Polish entrepreneur Piotr Zagozjon and Nadahl Shocair, the head of Bull Gemini. Mr Zagozdzon, Vice-President, is now the only investor, but the fund is already in advanced talks with more investors. Zago Capital I (more funds are planned) is looking for e-commerce businesses in the health and beauty industry, primarily in the dietary supplement sector. The minimum investment amount is €50,000, according to pb.pl, citing the founders.
In Poland, the number of takeovers and investor activity is already greater than it was before the epidemic, and new funds are entering the market. The appeal of this market in Poland is demonstrated by the fact that Sundose, a dietary supplements start-up, obtained USD 6m from investors this year, as well as the rapid growth of SFD, which aims to list on the WSE. Also, the situation on the dietary supplements market is currently assessed by PMR as extremely good. Almost 90% of respondents of our survey – managers of companies present on the market (manufacturers and distributors) – assess it positively. Overall, this is the best result in the period of our analysis (since 2007).
This is certainly influenced by the strong sales increases that manufacturers have been recording since April 2021 year-on-year, as well as by the fact that the industry, despite declines in many categories, managed to end 2020 with a positive result (which contributed to the overall good situation of companies operating in this market). Also taking into account the projected situation in the coming months, the optimism is unprecedented in the period since 2007. – Only 2% of companies expect the situation to deteriorate. Most often, the managers of companies present on the market justify their forecasts by the growing interest in dietary supplements.
Zago Capital wants to invest €100m in 30 companies by the end of 2023 and is ready to allocate PLN 4-40m for a single project. For example, the value of one of the upcoming transactions is about PLN 20m. It is worth noting, that the core interest for the fund is to acquire majority stakes, however, co-investments are not excluded, provided that the partner must agree to entrust the fund with control over the company’s operations.
The fund plans to complete its first deal (not counting the acquisition of Piotr Zagozdzon’s enterprises) before the turn of the year, and have 7-8 companies in its portfolio, already by the end of 2022. The main focus area is Central and Eastern Europe, although there are plans to invest the majority of its funds in Poland, where it receives the most applications.
“We are investing for a period of 5-7 years, with the goal of receiving a 5-7 times return on investment at the time of departure. We consider all exit alternatives, including the stock market, and the first of the firms will be ready to go public in 2022”, according to Piotr Zagodon, cited by pb.pl
Dietary supplements market to grow further
According to PMR study, in 2021 and in the following years the development of the dietary supplements market will be supported by an improvement in the economic situation. According to PMR’s latest forecasts, this market is expected to grow by 7.7% in 2021, to PLN 6.4bn in final prices (all sales channels). Among the channels analysed by PMR, sales in pharmacies are expected to grow at the slowest rate (the analysis covers the online channel – pharmacies, shops and platforms, non-pharmacy channel – stationary shops, such as nutrition shops, drug shops, sports shops, herbalists and the pharmacy channel).
