MCI Capital explained

MCI Capital SA
Type:	public company
Founded:	1999
Location Country:	Poland
Location:	00-843 Warszawa, Rondo Daszyńskiego 1
Key People:	Tomasz Czechowicz; supervisory board chairman: Zbigniew Jagiełło^[1]
Industry:	private equity fund
Num Employees:	22
Traded As:	MCI Warsaw Stock Exchange
Isin:	PLMCIMG00012

MCI Capital SA - private equity fund listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange^[2] (WSE: MCI) established in 1999 by Tomasz Czechowicz with assets under management (AUM) of 2.8 billion PLN (ca. 600 m Euro) and permanent capital of 1.8 billion PLN [ca. 400 m Euro) as of December 31, 2021. According to [[The Wall Street Journal|Wall Street Journal]] MCI is one of Poland’s leading private equity companies.^[3]

MCI Capital specializes in digital economy buyout and growth capital investments, seeking to deploy EUR 30-100 million per investment. MCI operates across Europe, with a particular emphasis on Central Europe.^[4] Historically, MCI Group has also managed funds dedicated to investments in private debt, growth equity, and venture capital.

Business activity

The total value of gross assets under the management of MCI – increased by available financing for investment activities (financial commitments) – as at June 30, 2022 was approximately PLN 2.8 billion.Throughout its history, MCI has made a total of 107 investments and over 73 divestments.Since the start of its operations on January 1, 1999, MCI has delivered an 18 percent average annual increase in NAV per share and an internal rate of return of 27 percent on its growth and private equity portfolio.^[5]

MCI Capital ASI SA is a member of the Polish Association of Capital Investors.^[6]

Key people at the company include: Tomasz Czechowicz, founder and managing partner; Zbigniew Jagiełło, head of the supervisory board (previously the longstanding president of PKO Bank Polski); and Ewa Ogryczak, senior partner and chief operating officer.

MCI Capital focuses on investments in companies operating in the following segments:

• SaaS and B2B software
• e-commerce, direct-to-customer and marketplaces (B2C/B2B)
• payments, fintech and insurtech
• digital infrastructure
• energy and retail digital transformation

Investments are typically pursued through recapitalizations from venture capital and private equity funds, carveouts from strategic investors, public-to-private transactions, and founder-owner transitions.

Selected exits from investments

• iZettle (Sweden) – sale of the company to PayPal for over $2 billion – one of the largest fintech exits in Europe.^[7]
• RemoteMyApp (Poland) - sale of the global gaming platform to Intel Corporation (Intel's first strategic acquisition in Poland).^[8]
• ATMan (Poland) - sale of shares in a data center operator to an investment vehicle managed by Goldmans Sachs Merchant Banking Division.^[9]
• Lifebrain (Italy) - sale to Investindustrial, a European private equity fund.^[10]
• WP.pl (Poland) - sale of the entire block of shares by Orange to the O2 Group, which sold part of its shares to the MCI fund, debut on the Warsaw Stock Exchange (record capitalization of EUR 800 million).^[11]
• Netrisk (Hungary) - implementation of the "buy & build" strategy to build a leading European insurance leader, recapitalization with TA Associates.^[12]
• Dotcard (Poland) - sale of one of the Polish leaders in the e-payment market for PLN 315 million to a strategic investor - Nexi Group/Nets, a digital leader on the European market.^[13]
• Mall.cz (Czech Republic) - recapitalization of an e-commerce store with a venture capital fund and sale to Allegro.^[14]
• Invia (Czech Republic) - recapitalization of the e-travel platform with a venture capital fund, sale to the Rockaway Group for PLN 327 million.^[15]
• Azimo (Great Britain) - MCI partially exited the investment, while also becoming a shareholder in a global provider of HR tech solutions – Papaya Global.^[16]

Current portfolio and new investments

MCI currently holds shares in 14 portfolio companies and, in line with its investment strategy, plans to implement 2-3 new investments annually.

History

• 1999: Establishment of MCI as a digital investor operating in Poland and Central and Eastern Europe
• 1999: the first investment in CCS (Computer Communication Systems SA – one of the leading Polish ICT systems integrators)
• 2001: MCI debuts on the WSE, assets under management worth USD 10 million
• 2008: entry into growth capital investing
• 2008: entry into leveraged buyout investing (ABC Data)
• 2010: EUR 100 million of net assets under management
• 2011: entry into private debt investing
• 2012: entry into Western European market
• 2014: EUR 300 million net assets under management
• 2019: Refocus of strategy on buyout transactions across Europe via its evergreen MCI.EuroVentures fund.
• 2021: Record-breaking profit for MCI – PLN 465.79 million of consolidated net profit.^[17]

Notes and References

1. Web site: Supervisory Board. 15 July 2015 . 2022-09-21.
2. Web site: Company Card. www.gpw.pl.
3. News: Polish Startups Must Look Beyond Home. The Wall Street Journal. 17 July 2013 . Rooney . Ben .
4. Web site: Q&A: Tomasz Czechowicz, MCI Capital. www.realdeals.eu. 2022-09-21.
5. Web site: Raiffeisen report about MCI. www.mci.eu. 19 April 2022 . 2022-09-21.
6. Web site: Members of the Polish Private Equity Association. www.psik.org.pl. 2015-04-29. https://archive.today/20150429132116/http://www.psik.org.pl/funds.html. 2015-04-29. dead.
7. Web site: Polski fundusz uczestniczył w przejęciu przez PayPal fintechowego jednorożca. BusinessInsider.com.pl. 21 September 2018 . pl. 2022-09-20.
8. Web site: Szczecińska spółka Red Sky kupiona przez Intela. ceo.com.pl. 9 November 2021 . pl. 2022-09-20.
9. Web site: Goldman Sachs Invests $500m in Data Center Platform Global Compute. dgtlinfra.com. 20 October 2020 . en. 2022-09-20.
10. Web site: MCI wyszedł z lifebraiu za 155 mln zł. PB.pl. pl. 2022-09-21.
11. Web site: Wirtualna Polska oficjalnie sprzedana. Do Grupy o2 wszedł fundusz MCI Management. Forsal.pl. 14 February 2014 . pl. 2022-09-20.
12. Web site: MCI.EuroVentures Completes Partial Sale of Stake in Netrisk to TA Associates. MCI.pl. 8 January 2020 . en. 2022-09-20.
13. Web site: Nets acquires Polish online payment service providers Dotpay/eCard from MCI Capital. Nets.eu. en. 2022-09-20.
14. Web site: MCI Management dostał za Mall.cz blisko 150 mln zł. Nets.eu. en. 2022-09-20.
15. News: Polish MCI sells travel portal Invia to Czech Rockaway. Reuters.com. 5 February 2016 . en. 2022-09-20.
16. Web site: MCI został akcjonariuszem Papaya Global w wyniku umowy inwestycyjnej z Azimo. Inwestycje.pl. 29 July 2022 . pl. 2022-09-21.
17. Web site: MCI Capital miało 465,79 mln zł zysku netto, 358,27 mln zł zysku EBIT w 2021 r.. Forsal.pl. 14 April 2022 . pl. 2022-09-21.