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The Wire
Jun 23, 2023

Horizon Capital’s Lenna Koszarny shares insights on doing deals in Ukraine amid war

Good morning, Hubsters.

 

Happy Fri-yay! MK Flynn here, filling in for Obey Martin Manayiti, who has the day off.

 

Yesterday, we had a fascinating visit from Lenna Koszarny, founding partner and CEO of Horizon Capital, which invests in tech companies in Ukraine. She stopped by PEI Group’s London office to speak with our staff, and she shared insights on how the firm has carried on in the midst of the war.

 

Read some of the riveting conversation below.

 

There was good news and bad news in PwC’s midyear PE deals report. I’ve got some highlights from that below.

 

And we’ll kick things off today with Obey’s interview with Great Point Partners about an exit announced earlier in the week.

 

Exit interview

 

Over the course of its six-year hold period, Great Point Partners grew portfolio company Vālenz Health significantly before selling it to Kelso & Company in a deal announced earlier this week.

 

Subscribers to the premium version of the Wire may read Obey’s interview with GPP managing director and head of private equity Noah Rhodes, in which he discusses how the PE grew the target’s revenue and enterprise value.

 

Finding opportunities

 

PE-related deal volumes declined nearly 30 percent in the past year, putting the market back to pre-pandemic levels, according to PwC’s Private Equity: Deals 2023 Midyear Outlook.

 

PE Hub premium subscribers may read more.

 

May the Force be with you

 

As I mentioned, yesterday at PEI Group’s London office, Private Equity International’s Carmela Mendoza led a riveting conversation with Lenna Koszarny, founding partner and CEO of Horizon Capital, a private equity firm that invests in fast-growing tech and export-oriented companies in Ukraine.

 

The discussion was part of a series PEI Group conducts for our employees, and Adam Le was also instrumental in organizing it.

 

In April, Horizon announced that its Horizon Capital Growth Fund IV had reached $254 million, slightly above its $250 million target. The firm celebrated the milestone with an in-person signing ceremony attended by Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at Horizon’s officein Kyiv.

 

Carmela asked Koszarny what it’s been like to do business since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 24, 2022.

 

PE Hub premium subscribers may read the interview.

 

Carmela will have more from her interview with Koszarny next week.

 

On that inspirational note, I’ll sign off for today. I’ll be back with more on the Wire on Monday.

 

Have a good weekend,

 

MK

 

Read the full wire commentary on PE Hub ...

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Also of note (may require subscriptions)

 

Innova Capital looks to Netopia as dethroner of cash in Romanian payments. Netopia Group is responsible for 25% of Romania’s online transactions, according to Innova. (PE Hub Europe)

 

NGP bets on ‘dramatic capital scarcity’ in energy as it raises $2.5bn Fund XIII. Global oil and gas private equity fundraising in 2022 was the slowest in more than a decade, with 55 vehicles securing $20bn. (Buyouts)

 

New woman-led fund Radiate Ventures seeks adversity-hardened founders. Cathryn Chen, founder of investment platform MarketX, has raised $30m for the debut fund of Radiate Ventures, which is targeting $150m. (Venture Capital Journal)

 

Avoiding tokenism: How LPs spot an authentic DE&I strategy. Investors are looking for signs of a truly inclusive culture, according to a panel of LPs at PEI Group’s Women In Private Markets Forum: North America this week. (New Private Markets)

 

PE Deals

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They said it

“We continue to operate business as usual. We go to the companies, you hear sirens, you go into their bomb shelter. You find out if you're going to a meeting, you might have it in a hotel that has a really good bomb shelter. You plan everything around where the bomb shelter is, and you make sure that you go there and you can meet there and do things.”

— Lenna Koszarny, founding partner and CEO of Horizon Capital, which invests in tech companies in Ukraine

 

Today's letter was prepared by MK Flynn

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