BrazilBain, BCG and Big 4 lauded for M&A services to private equity in Poland
The corporate finance arms of five consulting firms – Bain, BCG, Deloitte, EY and PwC – have in Poland been lauded for their private equity expertise.
Every year the Polish Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (PSIK) organises the Nagrody PSIK awards, a competition that aims to promote excellence in Poland’s venture capital and private equity industry. All players that are part of the private equity ecosystem are among the parties that can be recognised, including private equity/venture capital funds managers, strategic and tax consultants, bankers, lawyers and other M&A advisors.
“The Nagrody PSIK contest promotes the highest professional standards in the industry as well as venture capital/private equity investors’ contribution to the growth of both international and Polish companies,” explained Barbara Nowakowska, Managing Director at PSIK and Jury Chairwoman of the awards ceremony.
Following its own due diligence on the achievements of individuals and companies in the past year, PSIK unveiled a list of finalists across eleven different categories. Among the finalists are five management consultancies that are active in Poland: Bain & Company (based in Warsaw), Boston Consulting Group (also based in Warsaw), and Deloitte, EY and PwC (they have several offices in the country, among others in Szczecin, Krakow, Gdańsk, Katowice, Poznań and Rzeszów).
Bain and BCG – two of the globe’s largest strategy consulting firms (the other is McKinsey & Company) – were acclaimed in the ‘Strategic and Commercial Advisor’ category. The M&A services of strategy consultancies typically focus on due diligence services, and in particular commercial due diligence, coupled with other M&A offerings such as corporate strategy, growth strategy, corporate finance advisory and post-merger integration.
The Warsaw office of Bain & Company was established in the summer of 2012 – the locale also serves as the firm’s hub for clients in the Central Eastern Europe (CEE) region. The Polish arm is led by Jacek Poświata, Managing Partner of Bain Poland/CEE. BCG Warsaw’s heritage in the country traces back to 1997. The US-origin consultancy firm currently employs around 130 employees in Poland, based in Zebra Tower, one of Warsaw’s most prestigious office buildings in the heart of the city. At the helm of the Polish operations stands Franciszek Hutten-Czapski, Senior Partner & Managing Director, who joined BCG in 1997 from Procter & Gamble.
The M&A arms of Deloitte (Deloitte Financial Advisory Services) and PwC (PwC Deals) also received plaudits in the ‘Strategic and Commercial Advisor’ category. Elsewhere, Deloitte, EY and PwC all were recognised in the ‘Financial and Tax Advisor’ category, while PwC also managed to earn praise for its client work in the ‘M&A Advisor’ category.
Commenting on the outlook for private equity driven M&A in the region, Piotr Nogajczyk, a Partner at PwC, said, “The prospects for 2018 are promising. There is a strong macro basis: the rapid growth of the Polish economy (GDP forecast to grow by approximately 4% in 2018 and 2019) and consumption growth fuelling consumer-related sectors. That is why private equity funds are still very much interested in Poland.”
Among the deals that were closed in the last twelve months in Poland are three in the professional services industry. Goyello, a joint Polish and Dutch software solutions firm was acquired by India's Aspire Systems; Polish digital studio Edisonda was picked up by Grant Thornton Poland, and; UK-origin strategy consultancy OC&C Strategy Consultants saw its Polish practice leave the network to join EY-Parthenon.
