Black Pearls VC achieves another successful exit with Solwit acquisition by ALTEN Group

We are proud to announce the recent acquisition of our portfolio company, Solwit, by the international engineering and technology consulting group ALTEN. It is yet another successful exit for our venture capital firm, and we are thrilled to see a 3.16x cash-on-cash return on investment.

Solwit, founded by Leszek Pankiewicz – former CEO of Intel Poland and Wojciech Wasiukiewicz, is a software engineering and testing services company that works with clients across various industries. The company was established in 2011 and, in a short period of time, became one of the most important technology companies in Gdansk. We began working with Solwit in break of 2015 and 2016, providing funding for new innovative solutions. With over 300 engineers on staff, Solwit has provided reliable software solutions since its inception.

We are incredibly proud to have facilitated our portfolio company Solwit's acquisition by Alten Group from France. This marks yet another successful exit for us at Black Pearls VC, and a life-changing moment for the visionary founders we had the pleasure of partnering with. We worked hand in hand with Solwit's leadership team to ensure a smooth transition. We wish Solwit and Alten Group all the best in their future endeavors and look forward to continuing our work of empowering visionaries to realize their dreams.

Marcin P. Kowalik, Managing Partner, Black Pearls VC

ALTEN Group is one of Europe's leading engineering consulting companies that provides services including engineering consulting and IT development services through its 54 000 employees across 30 countries worldwide. The acquisition by ALTEN Group is a testament to Solwit's technical expertise, quality of services, and potential for continued growth. The purchase will also give ALTEN Group a more substantial presence in the Polish market and a more significant footprint in the software engineering sector in Eastern Europe. The transaction with Solwit marks the company's second strategic move in 2023 and its 10th acquisition since the beginning of 2022. This impressive growth has driven sales revenue to over €3.78 billion in 2022, boasting a staggering 29.3% increase, with 68.9% of its revenue coming from international markets.

The 12-year business adventure of Solwit would be much more difficult if I didn't have people and institutions around me focused on jointly building the value of our company. Solwit, like any innovative company, struggled with the challenges of an excess of ideas and a shortage of resources - at this point the emergence of Black Pearls VC was essential. Taking on many business challenges together in the past, when we were small, gave us the opportunity to celebrate the achievement of our strategic goals. Today we are ready to enter the path on which large and global companies operate. Thanks to Black Pearls VC that you believed in Solwit at the right place and time.

Leszek Pankiewicz, Founder and CEO of Solwit

Recent investment exits prove our fund investment thesis, showing that CEE technology companies are exciting targets for Western European partners who value the region's resilience and capital efficiency. This part of the world already has an incredibly strong technical talent base. It can offer more investment opportunities, and in the last five years, it has been the fastest-growing area in Europe in terms of VC fund activity. Furthermore, local companies are well-positioned for the current market downturn due to efficiency.

As Managing Partner responsible for this transaction on our end, I couldn't be prouder of our ability to guide our portfolio companies from the seed stage all the way to exit. This acquisition further solidifies our track record of success, with four fruitful exits in the past two years, including the acquisition of Skyrise.tech by NASDAQ-listed Etteplan and Latvian-based Nordigen by global unicorn GoCardless. We’re happy that our investment strategy allows us to generate extraordinary returns for our Limited Partners.

Marcin P. Kowalik, Managing Partner, Black Pearls VC

Black Pearls VC would like to sincerely thank the co-investors for their mutual support of the company and management. We wish ALTEN Group and Solwit the best of luck in their future endeavors and hopes they can achieve great synergy on their joint journey.

Black Pearls VC is one of the Baltic Sea region's more active venture capital funds. The fund made eleven investments in the previous year, including four follow-on deals. This year, it has already made five more investments. As a result of the investment strategy, in the last two years, the fund has exited four investments, returning capital to investors at a profit. The fund has one unicorn valued at more than €2bn as part of its investment portfolio, and 57% of its latest investments contain international startups. Black Pearls VC management team is preparing for more exits from portfolio companies and the launch of a new fund with a geo focus covering the Baltic Sea region.