The transaction was mediated by the business brokerage company “VerslopardavimasCom” and the international business brokerage services company “Dealbridge”, represented by Klaus Sonntag, senior partner of the Polish branch of “Dealbridge M&A Advisors”.
The sole owner of the buyer company is aeXea Capital, an investment fund managed by Polish-born UK investor Marek Niedzwiedz, which invests in businesses in various industries, as well as social services and advertising businesses in the UK, USA and other countries.
Mr. Niedzwiedz has already invested several million British pounds in various industries on behalf of the foundation he founded, successfully transforming or even reviving many companies. According to the investor, this acquisition of the Valorus company marks a significant step in his investment journey to combine his passion for sports with investment experience. Because Mr. Niedzwiedz is a former professional football player, and his brother Janusz is a professional football coach. By the way, in 2020, J. Niedzwiedz briefly coached FK Riteriai football club and worked in Vilnius.
Speaking about why Lithuania and the acquisition of Valorus were chosen for investment, Mr. Niedzviedzas emphasized that, according to his knowledge, Lithuania is famous for high-quality textile production, similar to Poland and Portugal. According to him, Poland has recently reduced the efficiency of the labor cost and quality ratio, so Lithuania has become the leading country in Europe in terms of the efficiency of the cost and quality ratio. The investor was looking for a relatively small company engaged in sewing high-quality products, established at least 20 years ago and with a solid track record.
The company “Valorus” appeared to the investor as an ideal option for acquisition, since the company has accumulated a kind of “reputation for craftsmanship” – it produces high-quality sportswear products for many well-known sports clubs and federations. Mr. Niedzwiedz revealed that it was the company’s commitment to quality and its long-term experience in the sportswear industry that made it attractive in terms of a possible acquisition of a controlling stake.
Speaking about the objectives of the acquired company, Mr. Niedzwiedz revealed that over the next 12 months there will be a strong focus on increasing sales in the UK sports kit market for individual sports organisations. The value of this market is about 10 billion British pounds per year. Later, it is planned to provide tailoring services to representatives of major UK sportswear brands. In order to facilitate the realization of these goals, the company’s marketing, sales and customer service departments will be established in London in the near future.
in 2025 in the second half, Valorus plans to reach the US market, which is worth 70 billion. US dollars, just talking about the football, basketball, volleyball and rugby sports apparel market. The planned development strategy is designed so that products made in Europe can penetrate and successfully compete in both local and international markets, ensuring sustainable growth and diversification.
The investor believes that it is important not only to penetrate new markets, while maintaining active relations with existing customers, but also to constantly increase production efficiency, following the direction of sustainability. The investor did not hide that he personally believes more in continuous gradual improvement than disruptive changes. According to him, the immediate goal in the company’s operations is to integrate the most advanced technologies to simplify operations, increase productivity and customer satisfaction. Until 2025 Valorus will aim to increase operational efficiency by at least 30% through technological improvements alone.
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2024-08-11 05:12:40
