TA Associates, a leading global growth private equity firm, today announced it has completed a minority investment in W.A.G. payment solutions, a.s. (“Eurowag”), a leading, high growth provider of payment solutions for freight and passenger carriers across Europe and Turkey. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Serving international trucking companies, small haulers and operators of delivery and personal vehicle fleets, Eurowag offers a portfolio of cards for vehicle fueling, as well as toll payment solutions that provide a unified system of electronic toll payment across a number of European countries. The company serves over 4,000 customers with more than 120,000 active fuel cards, has over 9,500 fuel card acceptance points in 24 countries, and offers automated toll payment coverage in 18 countries. Eurowag also offers tax refund services in the form of net invoicing, standard VAT refunds and excise tax refunds. In addition, Eurowag owns and operates multiple truck parks at key pan-European commercial transport locations. The company recently introduced the Eurowag MasterCard, a pre-paid card that can be used across the MasterCard network. Founded in 1996, Eurowag is headquartered in Prague, with additional offices in the Czech Republic and in Austria, Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Turkey.
“With consistent and attractive organic growth, Eurowag offers a compelling investment opportunity for TA,” said J. Morgan Seigler, a Managing Director at TA Associates who will join the Eurowag Board of Directors. “Eurowag has continued to strengthen its market position with rapid growth across Central and Eastern Europe and new entry into selected Western European markets. With increasing scale, a large and well diversified customer base, a transactional business model that affords protection from fuel price volatility, and a strong technology platform, we believe there are numerous opportunities for Eurowag’s continued business development.”
“We see a number of attractive avenues for growth, including continued expansion in our core markets, the penetration of new geographies, the launch of new products and the potential execution of value creative acquisitions,“ said Martin Vohánka, Founder and CEO, W.A.G. payment solutions. “We chose TA Associates because we wanted a partner with the experience and resources to help us realize these goals. We welcome this close collaboration with TA as we begin a new chapter in the evolution of Eurowag.” According to Verdict Research, the European fuel card market is projected to be valued at more than €110 billion by 2019. The large truck fleet segment, Eurowag’s primary customer base, continues to grow in Europe. For the European Union, new heavy goods vehicles registration grew by 6.5% annually from 2010 to 2014, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers Association.
“We are delighted to complete this investment in Eurowag,” said Ajit Nedungadi, a Managing Director at TA Associates who will also join the Eurowag Board of Directors. “The company has enjoyed outstanding performance under Martin’s inspired leadership and in our opinion, this is a fantastic entrepreneurial success story. We are very excited to partner with the management team and look forward to helping them continue expanding the business.”
Clifford Chance served as legal counsel and Deutsche Bank and EY provided financial advisory services to Eurowag. Travers Smith and Kinstellar provided legal counsel services to TA Associates.
Founded in 1996, W.A.G. payment solutions, a.s. (“Eurowag”), is a leading provider of payment solutions for mobility within Europe. With a passion for innovation and deep insight into the needs of its customers, Eurowag offers fuel cards, toll payment solutions and sophisticated tax refund services across Europe and Turkey. Eurowag has a turnover of more than 1 billion euro and enjoys a sustained growth of 25% per annum.
Eurowag offers a comprehensive range of payment solutions for various market segments, including Eurowag One for large international haulage companies; Eurowag Easy as a pre-paid card; Eurowag Vector, specially designed for freight forwarders; Eurowag Fleet for passenger cars; and Eurowag MasterCard as a pre-paid convenience solution. Eurowag is headquartered in Prague, with regional offices in Austria, Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Turkey. More information about Eurowag can be found at www.eurowag.com.
TA Associates is one of the largest and most experienced global growth private equity firms. The firm has invested in more than 450 companies around the world and has raised $24 billion in capital. With offices in Boston, Menlo Park, London, Mumbai and Hong Kong, TA Associates leads buyouts and minority recapitalizations of profitable growth companies in the technology, financial services, business services, healthcare and consumer industries. More information about TA Associates can be found at www.ta.com.
