Minority stake in HOPIN acquired by a regional private equity fund Eterus Capital
Minority stake in HOPIN acquired by Eterus Capital
KPMG Deal Advisory acted as the exclusive M&A advisor on the side of founders of HOPIN, a popular mobile platform operator for the mediation of taxi services (“the Company“). We have provided comprehensive consultancy services on the entry of the financial investor Eterus Capital which acquired a 40% stake in the Company (“the Transaction”). The Transaction was completed in July 2019.
HOPIN is a fast-growing mobile platform operator for the mediation of taxi services. HOPIN was the first in Slovakia to offer an innovative taxi ordering service through mobile application, which resulted in a significant increase in sales and profitability. With its main operation in Bratislava, HOPIN also services other Slovak and foreign cities (e.g. Kosice, Prague or Lviv) and mediates more than 120 thousand rides per month.
The Company was founded and is managed by Slovak entrepreneurs Martin Winkler and Martin Baran. Over the past few years, the HOPIN application has become popular within B2C customers as well as the rapidly growing B2B segment. HOPIN is a strong competitor for global players such as Uber or Bolt and the Company’s management is ready to continue its expansion, enhancing the quality of services for drivers and customers with the ambition to break into various areas of integrated and shared transportation.
Eterus Capital is a Slovak private equity fund focused on investments in growth-phase small and medium-sized companies, which has been operating on the market since 2008. The fund is managed by WOOD & Company, a leading investment group with a strong position in the Central European market, focused on providing transaction advisory, securities trading and asset management.
KPMG Role
KPMG acted as the exclusive financial advisor to the sellers on disposing their minority shareholding in the Company. KPMG secured an exclusive sales process and guided the shareholders through every step of the Transaction, including strategic partner search, commercial contract negotiations up to the successful closing of the deal in July 2019.
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