Simona Kijonková buys Czech firm Lipoelastic in her biggest deal yet

Simona Kijonková's fund JSK Investments is acquiring a controlling stake in the Czech company Lipoelastic, which makes compression garments for patients after aesthetic surgery and other customers. According to CzechCrunch, it is the biggest deal of Kijonková's entire investing career.

Lipoelastic joins the portfolio of the Private & Growth Equity Fund I sub-fund managed by JSK Investments. It is the fifth investment alongside IPRICE, Bestberg, Primaria and Evalon. The sub-fund focuses on established companies and is intended for qualified investors. Its target size is EUR 100 million, and JSK Investments hopes to attract new investors who share its long-term approach.

What we know about the deal

The parties did not disclose the exact price. It is estimated to run into the high hundreds of millions of crowns. CzechCrunch values Lipoelastic at between CZK 800 million and CZK 1 billion, but neither the size of the stake nor the price was commented on.

The investment group Angee Capital, owned by spouses Jan and Radka Rozlivka, is also involved, and a minority stake will go to management. Rozlivka previously built Mailstep, a logistics company that handles storage and distribution of goods for online shops.

Kijonková herself will not interfere in day-to-day management. After the deal closes she will take a strategic role on the supervisory board and plans to draw mainly on her experience in e-commerce and international expansion.

A company with Wallachian roots

The company was founded in 2002 by Alena and Tomáš Hradil. It sells its products in more than 75 countries, production is based in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, and it has its own branches abroad. Besides its core range for people after plastic surgery, the company offers products for patients with lipedema, as well as compression clothing for sport and travel.

“We started in Valašské Meziříčí with varicose-vein stockings and the conviction that even a small Czech company can make a product trusted by surgeons and patients around the world,” the Hradils recall. They say that people all over the world now wear the company's garments, and that it is among the two largest brands in the world.

The whole group exceeded CZK 600 million in revenue last year. The parent company reported revenue of CZK 440 million and a net profit of CZK 60 million, whereas in 2019 its profit was about CZK 9 million.

The founders are handing the company over to new investors, but management does not change: Petr Remeš remains at the helm with the existing team. “With JSK Investments we get a partner who understands e-commerce and logistics and shares our focus on quality,” Remeš said, adding that nothing significant changes for employees and customers.

By the Around Prague newsroom