Acquisitions in Czech Republic

Investment group Pale Fire Capital is selling its stake in Czech IT recruitment agency teamIT back to the company’s original founders and existing co-owners Jan Birás, Michal Tomek, and Petr Kropáček after six years of partnership. The founders will assume full control of management and plan to continue expanding teamIT’s position in IT recruitment and related hiring innovations.

TAO Digital Solutions Inc. acquired DigitalSoftMinds S.R.O. (DSM), a Prague-based product engineering firm providing end-to-end hardware and software development for highly regulated industries such as life sciences and medical devices. The acquisition expands TAO’s international delivery capabilities and strengthens its chip-to-cloud, compliant engineering offering for medtech and life sciences customers. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Cloudera announced it has acquired Taikun, a platform provider for managing Kubernetes and cloud infrastructure across hybrid and multi-cloud environments. The deal adds Taikun’s container-native Kubernetes capabilities to Cloudera’s data and AI platform, creating a more unified control plane and enabling cloud-like operations across public cloud, on-premises, sovereign, and air-gapped environments. Taikun’s engineering team will join Cloudera and Taikun will serve as a new European development hub for Cloudera.

Wolters Kluwer Legal & Regulatory has acquired Inisoft Group, s.r.o., a Czech provider of regulatory compliance software for the waste management sector. Inisoft’s solutions (including Envita) support waste data tracking, reporting, and compliance with national and local regulations for more than 3,600 customers across government and commercial organizations. Inisoft’s 68 employees will join Wolters Kluwer’s Czech and Slovakian unit.

ARCHIMED, a healthcare-focused private equity firm, announced the acquisition of BioVendor Group, a global advanced diagnostics company specializing in immunoassays across immunology, infectious, metabolic, autoimmune diseases, and genetics research. Headquartered in Brno, Czech Republic, BioVendor will continue under its existing management team, with ARCHIMED supporting growth through international expansion, innovation, and potential acquisitions.

Pratia, a research site network, acquired Clinical Research Centre (CRC) to expand into Slovakia and further diversify its operations in the Czech Republic. The deal adds CRC’s investigator network and site/home-care capabilities, strengthening Pratia’s ability to run hybrid and decentralized clinical trials, including in oncology.

HID acquired Sewio Networks, a provider of ultra-wideband (UWB) real-time location systems (RTLS) platforms for asset management and intralogistics. The deal adds higher-precision UWB technology to HID’s growing RTLS portfolio, supporting smart factory and warehouse automation for industrial and automotive customers. Sewio, headquartered in Brno, Czech Republic, will be integrated into HID’s Identification Technologies Business Area and Internet of Things Services unit.

Averna, a portfolio company of Walter Capital Partners, announced the acquisition of ELCOM a.s. and its subsidiaries to support Averna’s international growth and strengthen its global test & quality solutions offering. ELCOM, headquartered in the Czech Republic, operates in test & measurement, power engineering, and industrial automation; CEIP is exiting its majority stake while ELCOM management becomes shareholders in Averna.

Macquarie Asset Management has agreed to sell its managed 55.21% stake in Czech Grid Holdings (CGH) to ČEZ Group, valuing the business at an enterprise value of approximately €4 billion. CGH owns GasNet, the Czech Republic’s largest gas distribution network, and GasNet Služby, its network maintenance and operations business. The transaction is expected to reach financial close in Q3 2024.

IBM announced it has acquired Manta Software Inc., a data lineage platform, to enhance its data and AI governance capabilities across watsonx.ai, watsonx.data, and watsonx.governance. The deal is intended to improve transparency, auditability, and trust in enterprise data used for AI models; financial terms were not disclosed.

Burda International CZ has acquired full ownership of Extra Online Media (EOM), which was previously held 75% by Pale Fire Capital and 25% by CEO Tomáš Kačena. Kačena will remain CEO of EOM and report to Petra Fundová, CEO of Burda International CZ, while both companies continue to operate as separate entities.

Workplace Options (WPO) announced the acquisition of The City Practice, a rapid-response provider delivering therapy and work-life support across Central and Eastern Europe. The deal expands WPO’s footprint in the region and enhances its crisis-response capabilities, leveraging The City Practice’s rapid-response delivery model through WPO’s wellbeing technologies.

NortonLifeLock has completed its previously announced acquisition of Avast, forming a combined consumer cyber safety company. As part of the merger consideration, Avast shareholders received a mix of NortonLifeLock shares and cash. Following completion, Avast shares were suspended and set to be delisted from the London Stock Exchange.

An investor has made a major investment in Czech heat pump manufacturer Acond, acquiring a 24.3% stake. The funding will support construction of a new production plant, expand manufacturing capacity, and help Acond scale heat pump production and expand across Europe by 2025.

Pale Fire Capital completed its exit from FAVI in early July, selling the furniture and home accessories search engine to strategic buyer Emma Capital. Pale Fire Capital had invested in FAVI shortly after its founding in 2016 and supported its growth and expansion to nine markets. Founders Jan Zajíc (Sellers‑Zajíc) and Radomír Hejl will continue in their current roles as the company pursues further growth under Emma Capital.

Perwyn-backed Miss Group acquired Web4U, a Prague-headquartered provider of web hosting, domain registration, and related hosting services, marking Miss Group’s first acquisition in the Czech Republic. The deal continues Miss Group’s international M&A expansion strategy under Perwyn’s majority ownership.

Pale Fire Capital increased its ownership stake in Valuo Technologies (valuo.cz) to 37.5%. Valuo Technologies develops a data-driven tool for estimating real estate prices for professionals, and the investment will support new product features and team expansion.

American Laboratory Products Company, Ltd. (ALPCO) announced a merger with GeneProof a.s., combining immunoassay and molecular diagnostics capabilities across PCR test kits and automated laboratory instrumentation. The combined diagnostics company will be majority owned by Ampersand Capital Partners, which previously invested in ALPCO in 2020, while GeneProof’s founders will remain with the business as significant shareholders.

Pale Fire Capital Group sold its 20% stake in Saunia to the company’s other partners, including Saunia’s founders. Saunia operates a network of sauna facilities in shopping centres across the Czech Republic and Slovakia, and has been in Pale Fire Capital’s portfolio since 2019.

BAE Systems has agreed to acquire Bohemia Interactive Simulations from private equity firm The Riverside Company. The deal is subject to regulatory approval. Bohemia Interactive Simulations is a Czech software company focused on military training and simulation products.

Ceros, a cloud-based no-code design platform, announced the acquisition of Prague-based Avocode, a design-to-code platform. The deal is intended to deepen integration of Avocode’s Open Design API with Ceros Studio, improving cross-platform movement of design files and reducing friction for designers. Ceros plans to retain and expand Avocode’s Prague team to help scale the combined product roadmap.

Ciklum, a global digital engineering company, announced it has acquired CN Group to accelerate growth in the German-speaking (DACH) and Scandinavian markets. CN Group, a Prague-headquartered digital engineering firm, will add its specialists and nearshore delivery capabilities across central Europe to Ciklum’s broader European and North American delivery footprint.

Funds managed by Macquarie Asset Management agreed to sell České Radiokomunikace to Cordiant Digital Infrastructure. České Radiokomunikace is a Czech digital infrastructure and telecommunications services provider with telecom towers, broadcast sites, fibre, and cloud/data centre offerings. Transaction terms were not disclosed.

The Emmes Company, LLC, a portfolio company of Behrman Capital, acquired Neox S.R.O., a clinical research organization (CRO). The deal is Emmes’ first add-on acquisition and is intended to expand Emmes’ BioPharma capabilities and European presence, particularly in Central and Eastern Europe. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Kemp Technologies announced the acquisition of Flowmon Networks to combine Kemp’s application delivery and security capabilities with Flowmon’s flow-based network performance monitoring and network detection and response (NDR) solutions. Flowmon’s ML-driven network intelligence and encrypted traffic analysis will enhance network observability, early threat detection, and automated incident response for NetSecOps teams.

Audax Private Equity-backed Astute, Inc., a SaaS-based omnichannel consumer engagement software provider, acquired Socialbakers, a.s. Socialbakers, headquartered in Prague, provides AI-powered social media management and digital marketing software, and the deal is intended to create a more integrated customer experience platform across channels.

The Carlyle Group acquired a majority stake in Memsource, a Czech Republic-headquartered provider of language translation and localisation software. Memsource’s management team, including founder and CEO David Čaněk, will remain shareholders, and the transaction financial terms were not disclosed.

STADA Arzneimittel AG agreed to acquire Walmark a.s., a leading Central European consumer healthcare (OTC) products manufacturer, from MidEuropa Partners for an undisclosed consideration. Walmark, founded in 1990 and headquartered in the Czech Republic, has a direct presence across nine EU countries and will be integrated into STADA’s business and production network (including Walmark’s Trinec manufacturing facility). The deal is subject to customary antitrust clearance and was expected to close in Q1 2020.

TPG Real Estate Partners (TREP) and Contera formed a strategic venture to acquire and develop industrial real estate projects in Central Europe, primarily in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. In connection with forming the venture, TREP acquired certain industrial park assets from Contera, including parks in Teplice and Ostrava, in a transaction valued at more than €90 million, while Contera will continue to operate and manage the assets.