July 2023 – As part of our group rebranding, KJK Management S.A has changed its name to KJK Capital Luxembourg S.A.
July 2022 – KJK Fund II announces exit from Tomplast
KJK Fund II has completed the sale of its stake in Tomplast, a company specialized in injection molding, plastic production and other related products used in the automotive, leisure, furniture, buildings and electric tools industries.
KJK Fund II acquired Tomplast 2016. Under KJK’s ownership, Tomplast has built a strong reputation of quality, reliability and experience, enabling Tier 1 classification from most of its customers, and multiple ISO certifications proving its operational excellence.
KJK Fund II realised another solid financial return from its investment with ca. 4x overall return on money invested.
The transaction closed on July 21, 2022.
July 2022 – KJK Fund II announces the exit from Leader 96
KJK Fund II via its holding company KJK Sports, has sold its 60% stake in Leader 96 Ltd.
KJK Fund II acquired Leader 96 in August 2016. Under KJK’s ownership, the company completely rebalanced its product mix with a full focus on e-bikes assembling, becoming one of the largest e-bike producers in Europe. During this time, Leader 96 saw its revenues grow from BGN 63 million to BGN 160 million in 2021. This strong performance generated a solid financial return for KJK Fund II from the investment with ca. 5x overall return on money invested.
The transaction closed on July 7, 2022.
October 2021 – KJK Fund III acquires a majority stake in Gumiimpex d.o.o.
Gumiimpex is a family-owned company manufacturing technical rubber products, recycles tires, and sells & distributes tires related products for commercial vehicles. The company currently operates in Croatia and is a market leader in its sector, with a consolidated turnover of close to EUR 60m in 2021. KJK’s future vision for the Company includes expanding geographically and utilizing expertise and infrastructure possessed by the Company to develop a robust R&D strategy and broaden the product offering for the years to come.
“We are thankful to the Kiric family for the opportunity given to KJK to perpetuate their tradition and build the next exciting chapter of the Company’s expansion. Over a period of fifty years, Mr. Kiric and his family have transformed a local workshop into a strong regional leader. Gumiimpex benefits from a lifetime focus on quality, a proven appetite for innovation, and creating long-term partnerships with their customers and suppliers. As responsible investors, we are also attracted by the initiatives of Gumiimpex in recycling and their ambition to play a role in the circular economy of the region as well as their extensive use of solar energy.”, – stated Kustaa Äimä, Managing partner at KJK.
This transaction is the 5th investment by KJK Fund III.
June 2021 – KJK Fund II announces the exit from Agronom d.o.o.
KJK Fund II via its holding company KJK II Balkan Holding, has entered into a binding agreement to sell its stake in Agronom d.o.o.
KJK Fund II acquired Agronom in May 2013. During our investment, Agronom became one of the largest companies active in Croatian agriculture, providing inputs, contracting agricultural production with farmers, trading with commodities, operating its own primary agricultural production, as well as distributing agricultural machinery and related products. Over the seven years of KJK’s investment, Agronom saw its revenues grow from HRK 200 million to HRK 791 million in 2020. In line with the revenue growth, the company’s EBITDA has increased from HRK 16.7 million in 2013 to HRK 56.8 million in 2020. This strong performance generated a solid financial return for KJK Fund II from the investment – 3.5x money invested, and 17.4% IRR.
“We are very proud to have supported Agronom in such a successful chapter of the company’s development. We wish Agronom all the best in the future”, – stated Kustaa Äimä, Managing partner at KJK.
April 2021 – KJK Fund III announces the acquisition of 66% of Alwark Group
KJK Fund III acquires 66% of Alwark Group. Alwark is providing services of sales, rental, and maintenance of material handling, warehouse, seaport, airport equipment and municipal machinery. The Company operates in all Baltic states – Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia and maintains over 3.500 industrial equipment units in the region. The consolidated turnover of the Group in 2020 exceeded EUR 43 million.
KJK’s investment in Alwark aims at supporting future growth of the company in the Baltic States as well as in the neighboring region.
“We are delighted to take part in the next chapter of Alwark’ development. For more than ten years, Alwark Group has displayed a strong customer-centric approach servicing large to smaller customers with equal passion, dedication, and technical expertise. We look forward to working with Alwark’s management team and support their investment strategy to boost growth and broaden their product offering”, – stated Kustaa Äimä, Managing partner at KJK.
This transaction is the 4th investment by KJK Fund III.
November 2020 – KJK Fund II exits Teraplast SA
In November, KJK Fund II divested its entire holdings in Romanian Romanian construction materials producer Teraplast SA. The sale, organized through an accelerated book-building on Bucharest Stock Exchange completed this week, generated an exceptionally strong financial return for the Fund, 15.6x money invested, and 45.8% IRR.
During KJK Fund II’s investment, Teraplast has transformed itself from a national construction materials player into a corporation active across the Balkan region in PVC pipes, PVC granules, and sandwich panels manufacturing, growing its revenues from RON 350 million to an estimated RON 1 billion in 2020 (2.85x). In line with the revenue growth, the company’s EBITDA has increased from RON 24.3 million in 2012 to an estimated RON 145 million this year (up 6x). With KJK Capital professionals’ active involvement, Teraplast has been able to reach this impressive growth while maintaining a strong debt profile and tight cost controls. With our assistance, the group has also finalized two acquisitions and one spin-off over the past three years, leading to impressive growth in the company’s market capitalization and daily liquidity.
January 2020 – KJK Fund III final closing successful, exceeding target with €221 million commitments
KJK Management S.A. is happy to announce the successful final closing of KJK Fund III S.C.A. SICAV-RAIF (“KJK Fund III” or the “Fund”) held on January 10, 2020, with total commitments of €221 million surpassing the original €200m fundraising target. We wish to thank our investors for their renewed confidence in us.
KJK Fund III will continue with the lucrative investment strategy of its predecessor funds, investing in the Balkan region and the Baltic countries where the KJK team has been active since the mid-1990s. Since its first closing in July 2018, the Fund has already displayed a strong investment pace and invested EUR 71 million into three promising companies: Tahe Outdoors (December 2018), Elan Group (April 2019) and Baltik Vairas (July 2019). For more information on the companies please visit: www.kjksports.com.
KJK focuses on industrial and agribusiness companies with turnovers of EUR 30 – 75 million and EUR 20 – 50 million enterprise value. Geographically, KJK Fund III will invest primarily in the Baltic States, Bulgaria, Croatia, Romania, Serbia, and Slovenia, where KJK’s seven regional offices are based. The aim is to build a portfolio of well managed companies with reasonable valuation multiples, with a strict preference for majority stakes and clear exit strategies. KJK promotes portfolio companies’ investments into people, growth and cross-border expansion. As signatory to the United Nations-supported Principles for Responsible Investment (UNPRI), KJK understands the importance of sustainability and is committed to incorporating environmental, social and corporate governance issues into its decision-making and ownership practices. KJK’s experienced staff consists of 20 professionals managing in total more than EUR 600m of assets.
KJK Fund III investors consist of well-known blue-chip institutional investors and investment professionals from our traditional client base. The Fund also attracted significant interest from institutional investors coming from the geographical regions in which KJK invests. Kustaa Äimä, Managing Partner, said: “KJK Fund III represents a significant milestone in our development. We are really pleased to see the excitement and interest towards KJK Fund III domestically and internationally and are naturally very grateful for our investors trust and continued support. The strong demand we have received that allowed us to surpass the original EUR 200m target reflects the confidence of investors in our team, our capability to identify companies with high potential in the region, and our ability to transform and strengthen the companies we acquire, together with their management teams and employees”.
For further information do not hesitate to contact us at KJK Management.
August 2019 – KJK Fund III acquires Baltik Vairas
KJK Fund III S.C.A. SICAV-RAIF, acting through its Luxembourg-based sporting goods investment company, KJK Sports, acquired 100% of Baltic Bicycle Trade UAB, the parent company of Baltik Vairas UAB, based in Šiauliai, Lithuania.
Kustaa Äimä, managing partner of KJK Management stated “We are thrilled to add Baltic Vairas to the KJK Sports portfolio. This strengthens KJK Sports’ position as the leading bicycle producer in the European market. The acquisition of Baltic Vairas opens significant synergy options with Leader 96 and also brings valuable contacts and know-how.”
Further, Jeffrey Tirman, CEO of KJK Sports commented that “With the purchase of Baltik Vairas, in combination Leader 96, KJK Sports is now the largest contract bicycle manufacturer in Europe, with current annual production in excess of 550’000 units (including both regular and e-bikes), and capacity of nearly 1’000’000 bicycles”.
Žilvinas Dubasas, CEO of Baltik Vairas also commented that “We are excited to be joining the KJK Sports group of companies and look forward to cross-platform fertilisation of branding and marketing ideas, as well as achieving synergies and gaining access to new competencies.”
June 2019 – Formation of KJK Sports
KJK has formed KJK Sports, a holding company for KJK Funds’ investments in European active-outdoor sporting goods companies. Current companies within KJK Sports portfolio are Estonian Tahe Outdoors, Slovenian Elan and Bulgarian Leader 96. Lithuanian Baltik Vairas will also be part of the portfolio after the close of its acquisition. Mr. Jeffrey Tirman, CEO of Elan, will also assume the role of CEO of KJK Sports.
KJK Sports is bringing together some of the leading European brands for outdoor sports to deliver active outdoor sporting goods equipment that has been handcrafted in Europe based on decades of know-how and tradition. All KJK Sports companies and brands have a customer-oriented focus for innovation, product development and quality. By combining leading outdoor sporting brands under one roof, we can leverage supply chain, marketing and distribution, while at the same time building a trade-supportive business model.
The purpose of KJK Sports is to deliver unforgettable outdoor adventures to friends and families based on the user-centric innovation focus of our brands.
Companies to be included in KJK Sports initially have combined sales of ca. EUR 270 million and EBITDA of EUR 23 million in 2019.
May 2019 – KJK Fund III completes purchase of Elan
KJK Fund III completed the purchase of 100% of the shares of Elan d.o.o., one of the world’s leading sporting goods companies. Elan was founded in 1945 and operates under four main divisions: i) winter sporting equipment, where Elan is a world recognized innovator and leader, ii) advanced high-performance racing and leisure sailing yachts, iii) engineered solutions for large multi-purpose arenas and stadiums world-wide, and iv) highly-technical advanced composite components utilized in renewable energy.
Mr. Kustaa Äimä, the founder and senior partner at KJK, stated that “We are delighted to have closed the purchase of Elan. We believe that Elan’s relentless focus on its customers makes it products highly relevant to consumers, thereby making Elan highly competitive on the world stage.” Mr. Äimä commented further that “Elan will play a central role in KJK’s efforts to build a sporting goods business focused on enabling friends and families to lead year-round active outdoor lifestyles”.
Elan’s management team, led by Mr. Jeffrey Tirman, Elan’s CEO, will continue managing the company
December 2018 – KJK Fund III acquires 50% ownership in Tahe Outdoors OÜ.
KJK Fund III made its first investment by acquiring a 50% stake in Tahe Outdoors in a capital increase transaction finalized in December 2018. Tahe is an Estonian company manufacturing and distributing high-quality watersports equipment. Main products are kayaks, canoes and paddling equipment – the company offers a wide selection from high-end custom-made products to budget models.
Tahe operates with 5 brands of watersport equipment and it has 3 factories located in Estonia, Germany and France with 130 employees. The Company’s sales network covers more than 35 countries worldwide. Over 95% of the sales are generated from outside of Estonia.
The funds injected by KJK will be used foremost to acquire a leading watersports equipment manufacturer, BIC Sport, headquartered in France. BIC Sport is one of the leading Stand Up Paddleboard manufacturers globally. The company has utilized its technological manufacturing skills for over twenty years producing watersports equipment including SUP, surf and windsurf boards and kayaks. Tahe closed the acquisition of BIC at the end of December 2018.
By taking over BIC Sports Tahe will create the second largest water sports equipment producer in Europe, the expected consolidated 2019 turnover for the Group is EUR 42 million and EBITDA more than EUR 5 million.
September 2018 – KJK Fund III first closing successful with EUR 138 million total commitments
KJK Management S.A. announces the successful first closing of KJK Fund III S.C.A. SICAV-RAIF with total capital commitments of up to €138 million. The new fund will continue the lucrative investment strategy of its predecessor funds investing in the Balkan region and the Baltic countries where KJK team has been active since the mid 1990’s. The fund investors consist of well-known blue-chip institutional investors and investment professionals from Finland and the Funds investment area. “Our new fund KJK III has found strong support from our traditional client base and a select number of new investors to exceed the funds first closing target of €75 – 125 million. We are really pleased to see the excitement and interest towards KJK Fund III domestically and internationally and are naturally very grateful for our investors trust and continued support. Being active in our core investment area for over twenty years, our long relationship and trust is also highlighted in the high-quality pipeline of investment opportunities”, elaborates Kustaa Äimä, KJK’s managing partner. Following KJK’s tested strategy, the new Fund will focus on industrial and agribusiness companies with turnovers of 20-50 million euros and 20-40 million of enterprise value. Geographically, KJK Fund III will invest primarily to Bulgaria, Croatia, Romania, Slovenia, Serbia and the three Baltic States where KJK’s seven regional offices are based. The aim is to build a portfolio of well managed companies with reasonable valuation multiples with a preference for majority stakes and clear exit strategies. KJK promotes portfolio companies’ investments into people, growth and cross-border expansion. KJK also supports sustainability and is committed to society, communities and the environment and is a signatory of UNPRI responsible investing policy. For further information do not hesitate to contact us at KJK Management.
September 2018 – KJK Fund II Balkan exits Aerodrom Nikola Tesla On September 2018 KJK Fund II Balkan sold its entire stake of ca. EUR 6.2 million in Aerodrom Nikola Tesla, the operator of Belgrade Airport. KJK Fund II Balkan originally invested EUR 1.8 million into Aerodrom Nikola Tesla between August 2012 and January 2014. Over the holding period the Fund received ca. EUR 0.7 million in dividends, bringing the total net proceeds with sale of the shares to EUR 6.9 million. The Funds return from the investment into Aerodrom Nikola Tesla thus yielded 3.8x money back and 29.3% IRR in EUR terms for the holding period.
April 2018 – KJK Fund II Balkan exits Zentiva SA On April 2018 KJK Fund II Balkan closed its exit transaction of Zentiva SA, the Romanian generic pharmaceutical producer. KJK Fund II Balkan originally invested into Zentiva between late 2012 and 2013. Net proceeds from the sales were EUR 13.42 million and in addition the Fund received EUR 1.85 million in dividends during the holding period. This resulted in total net proceeds of EUR 15.27 million. KJK achieved a very good financial return from the investment into Zentiva: 4.42x money back and IRR of 24.2% in EUR terms.
February 2018 – KJK Fund II exits Conpet SA On February 2018 both sub funds of KJK Fund II divested their entire holdings in Romanian pipeline operator Conpet SA. The sale was executed with an accelerated book building process, with large majority of shares being acquired by Romanian institutional investors. The sale follows KJK’s achievements of generating added value for the Fund’s investors. During KJK’s ownership Conpet’s stock was moved from Bucharest Stock Exchange’s secondary list to premium category, which increased public interest towards the company. KJK also promoted higher dividend payouts to shareholders, which were achieved in the form of extraordinary dividends as well as higher regular dividends. Originally KJK Fund II Balkan invested into Conpet in 2012, resulting in 34.6% IRR and 4.35x cash return on invested capital, with the total net proceeds for the fund being ca. EUR 6.9 million. KJK II Balkan Discovery invested into Conpet in 2014, achieving IRR of 39.9% and 2.68x money back, bringing total combined net proceeds to EUR 11.6 million.
February 2017 – KJK Fund II Balkan exits Transgaz SA On February 2017 KJK Fund II Balkan finished its exit from Transgaz SA, the Bucharest-listed gas transmission company. The shares were placed on the market during a two-month period by a broker mandated by KJK. KJK Fund II Balkan invested in Transgaz, the monopoly operator in Romanian National Transport System of gas in a private placement in April 2013. Transgaz operates the pipeline network under a concession agreement with the state. The company’s business performance has been solid and transportation revenues have been growing steadily during the ownership period. The Company’s unaudited revenues for 2016 were ca. EUR 412 million which was 12.1% higher than in 2015 and net earnings for 2016 were EUR 132 million, up 21.9%. The investment in Transgaz proved to be very profitable for KJK Fund II Balkan. The investment delivered IRR return of 27.1% per annum or a 2.1x cash return on invested capital, total proceeds from Transgaz investment were EUR 8.5 million for the Fund.“We have been highly satisfied with our investment in Transgaz”, says Kustaa Äimä from KJK Management. “Transgaz is a highly profitable company and we have provenly seen the management team to operate efficiently in challenging market conditions. The company’s success and investment performance demonstrated our investment thesis and value of investing in less known geographical regions which remain blind spots for majority of investors”, Mr. Äimä continues.
December 2016 – KJK Fund II Balkan Discovery invests into Kovinoplastika Loz In December 2016 KJK Fund II Balkan Discovery closed the acquisition of Kovinoplastika Loz dd, www.kovinoplastika.si. Kovinoplastika Loz is a globally active production company with EUR 60 million sales and ca. 700 employees, headquarters in Loz, Slovenia. It focuses on production of fittings, kitchen sinks, components and tools, through three main business units: Fittings, Inox, and Toolshop. KJK Balkan Discovery Fund owns 89% of Kovino as of now and is in the process making a mandatory buyout offer for Kovino’s minority shareholders. Kovinoplastika provides unique products and solutions to a vast variety of industries and end-users. It caters to the automotive and construction industry and furniture industry (hardware market), to the HORECA industry (non-decorative market), as well as to do-it-yourself enthusiasts and homemakers alike. The company not only offers top quality products to a wide range of customers, but also uses the unique product portfolio to achieve substantial R&D synergies. Company’s fittings and inox products maintain their quality, by closely cooperating with each other and with the Toolshop (and vice-versa), resulting in out-of-the-box solutions that generate growth giving Kovinoplastika Group the edge over competitors.
November 2016 – KJK Fund exits Kitron During November 2016 KJK Fund Baltic States exited Kitron, the Oslo listed EMS producer with significant production presence in Lithuania. Kitron, with 1200 employees, had sales of NOK 1.95 billion sales and NOK 144 million EBITDA in 2015. Over the past five years Kitron was able to grow its sales by 300m NOK and EBITDA 3.7 times, during the same time Kitron’s share price increased 3.6 times allowing KJK to make a successful exit. KJK Fund originally invested into Kitron in 2006. www.kitron.com
August 2016 – KJK Fund II Balkan Discovery invests into Leader 96 In August 2016 KJK Fund II Balkan Discovery closed the acquisition of 60% stake in one of the largest bicycle producers in Eastern Europe – Leader 96 OOD (www.leader96.com) The founders of the Company will remain to be actively involved in the management of the business as minority shareholders and board members, where the position of the Chief Executive Officer will continue to be held by Mr. Dimitar Zlatanov. Leader 96 has achieved impressive growth throughout the last several years, where the entry of KJK is in line with the Company’s plans to continue the strong development and expansion of its operations. The Company’s strategy sets further expansion through organic growth in new markets, by utilizing the potential of the new production facilities it recently completed. Established in 1996, Leader is nowadays one of the largest bicycles producers in Eastern Europe with turnover of ca. EUR 35 million and personnel of more than 500 people. The Company recently completed an extensive investment into a new factory and warehouse, which will increase the production capacity to more than 400 000 bicycles per year. Leader’s product range includes a large variety of high quality bicycles, such as e-bikes, city, mountain, kids, folding, road and fitness bikes. Currently, more than 95% of the production is exported to countries like Germany, Holland, Belgium, Denmark, France, Italy, Finland, Switzerland and many more.
April 2016 – KJK Fund II Balkan Discovery invests into Tomplast In April 2016 KJK Fund II Balkan Discovery closed the acquisition of Tomplast d.o.o (www.tomplast.si) and its wholly owned subsidiary Unitplast d.o.o. Tomplast group has its main activities in production of plastic components. It serves the automotive (40% of sales), leisure (caravan, furniture) (26%), electric tools (19%), electronics and telecommunication and industrial equipment industries. The group has 290 employees in two locations in Slovenia. Tomplast’s expertise lie on thermoplastic processing, using injection technology and also Gas Injection Technology. The company also provides manual and mechanical assembly, additional technology finishing (ultrasonic welding, tampo printing, sealant application etc.) as well as preparation of complete projects, from idea to final product
August 2015 – KJK Fund II Balkan Discovery invests into Don Don KJK Discovery Fund participated in a capital increase of Don Don d.o.o. in August 2015. The transaction follows the investment made by KJK Fund II Balkan in April 2014. In total, KJK Funds own 41% of Don Don. Don Don d.o.o. is the leading industrial bakery operator in former Yugoslavia headquartered in Grosuplje, Slovenia. The company employs ca. 1 500 persons and is engaged in manufacture of bread, fresh pastry goods, cakes and similar products and produces over 500.000 pieces of baked products per day. (www.dondon.si).
December 2014 – KJK Fund II Balkan and Balkan Discovery funds invests into Iskra ISD In December 2014, KJK Fund II Balkan and Balkan Discovery closed the acquisition of 51% of Iskra ISD (www.iskra-isd.si). Iskra ISD consists of a group of companies, which have been engaged in processing of metal and plastics. The group of companies is a mass producer of constituent parts and components for automotive and electronic industry as well as for household appliances. The companies in the Iskra ISD group employ over 400 people, and plan to give more job along with the planned expansion. In 2013, Iskra ISD generated revenues in total of 26.9 million EUR and 1.9 million EUR of profit. The company’s strategy sets expansion through organic growth with new operations in foreign markets as well as acquisitions and collaboration with foreign partners. The company plans to increase export from the present one-third to two-thirds of the company’s revenue, and achieve the increase of profitability through developing new products with higher value added. Development of new products refers to better integration of the present production programs, aiming at changing the company’s position from supplier of components to system supplier of sets.
November 2014 – KJK Fund II Balkan Discovery acquires 12% stake in Eurohold In November 2014 KJK Fund II Balkan Discovery acquired a 12% stake in Eurohold Bulgaria (www.eurohold.bg), a leading Bulgarian company with operations across the CEE and SEE regions focused on non-banking financial services and automotive retail. Eurohold Group is a public company, listed on both Sofia and Warsaw Stock exchanges. Eurohold Group, established in 1995, has expanded to become one the largest independent financial services groups in the CEE/SEE region. Its operations span across Bulgaria, Romania, Macedonia and Serbia. The main strategic goal of Eurohold Group is to become a leading financial services provider in the CEE/SEE markets offering insurance, leasing asset management to its customers and car sales. The Group owns Euroins Insurance Group, which is one of the largest independent groups operating in the CEE and SEE insurance markets. The insurance holding operates in 7 countries including Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine, Greece and Macedonia and employs 1,200 people.