Private Equity funds in Poland and CEE – which companies do they invest in?

A PE fund can buy an entire company, take a majority stake, come in as a minority investor, or combine a partial sale by the owner with a capital injection into the company. For a Polish business owner, this means Private Equity can be both a potential buyer and a source of capital for growth.

Poland is also the largest buyout and growth capital market in Central and Eastern Europe. In 2025, funds invested €684m in 43 companies in this segment in Poland – 36% of the whole CEE market’s value.

Are Private Equity funds active in Poland?

Yes. Poland remains the leading investment destination for private capital in the CEE region. Across the whole private equity and venture capital market, Poland accounted for 39% of the region’s investment value in 2025 and 29% of the companies receiving funding.

Narrowing the analysis to buyout and growth capital – the segment closest to classic Private Equity – Poland also ranked first in the region.

Private Equity isn’t just selling the whole company

A deal with a PE fund can take several forms.

Selling a majority stake

An owner might sell, say, 60–80% of the shares to the fund, keeping the rest. In this model the owner:

• realises part of the value they’ve built
• remains a shareholder and shares in further value growth
• often stays involved in management

After a few years, the fund and the original owner can jointly sell the company to the next investor.

Selling 100% of the shares

A full exit for the current owners is also possible. This is especially realistic when the company has mature management and can operate independently of its founder.

Growth capital

A fund doesn’t have to buy existing shares – it can subscribe for new shares, sending the money directly into the company. That capital can go toward:

• foreign expansion and higher production capacity
• acquiring other companies
• new product development and technology investment
• expanding the sales organisation

Growth capital investment value in CEE rose 33% in 2025, to €619m, with the average investment growing from €5.7m to €8.5m.

Selling part of the stake with a simultaneous capital injection

A blended model is common in practice – part of the money goes to the owner as payment for shares sold, part into the company as fresh capital. This lets the owner simultaneously:

• partially realise the value they’ve built
• reduce personal risk while keeping a stake in the company
• raise capital for the next stage of growth

Does a company have to be very large to interest a PE fund?

No. CEE market data show Private Equity activity isn’t limited to the largest deals. In 2025, 51 of 63 buyout deals – around 80% – fell in the sub-€50m category, worth around €709m in total, implying an average deal value of roughly €14m.

Only 12 companies fell into the €50–500m bracket Invest Europe calls mid-market. Though there were far fewer such deals, they accounted for 48% of total buyout value.

That’s important for owners of mid-sized companies. PE funds in the region aren’t focused solely on deals worth hundreds of millions of euros – by count, deals under €50m clearly dominate.

Which companies do PE funds invest in?

There’s no single universal profile for a Private Equity target. Funds vary in size, strategy, sector focus, and minimum investment size, but a few traits often boost a company’s appeal.

Which sectors do funds care about?

Private Equity in CEE isn’t concentrated in a single sector. In 2025, the buyout and growth segment saw the largest investment value across several sectors.

The data show activity across technology, B2B services, healthcare, energy, industrial products and services, and consumer businesses alike.

Why is Poland attractive to funds?

Poland is the region’s largest economy and has a large base of mature private companies. For the PE market, especially relevant are Polish companies expanding abroad, owner succession, consolidation of fragmented sectors, the ability to build regional leaders, and a large base of mid-sized companies.

Financial investors accounted for around 20% of Polish M&A deals in 2025. Grant Thornton also points to growing fund activity in the SME sector and a continued influx of foreign PE funds and search funds. Factors supporting investment activity in 2026 include the availability of unspent fund capital, expectations around financing costs, and pressure on portfolio companies to grow through further acquisitions.

A PE fund as buyer and growth partner

From an owner’s perspective, a Private Equity fund can play two basic roles – it can buy the company or part of it, but it can also supply the capital needed for further growth.

A company valued at PLN 100m. The fund buys 60% of the shares, the owner keeps 40% and co-funds further growth with the fund. After a few years the whole company is sold to another investor – the owner realises value twice.

In the PE industry this is sometimes called a second bite of the apple.

Is Private Equity right for every company?

No. A fund coming in usually means more formal governance and investor involvement in key decisions. A fund may expect:

• regular reporting and a seat on the supervisory board
• budget approval
• a say in acquisitions and financing
• specific rights around a future exit

For one owner this is an attractive way to speed up growth and unlock some capital. For another, losing full independence may be unacceptable.

Private Equity is a real option for mid-sized Polish companies too

2025 data show clearly that Private Equity funds are active in Poland, and that Poland remains the largest buyout and growth market in CEE. Just as importantly, 80% of buyouts in the region were deals under €50m, averaging around €14m – Private Equity is not, then, a solution reserved for the largest enterprises only.

For the owner of a developed company, a fund can be a buyer, a partner in a partial exit, a source of growth capital, a partner in market consolidation, or a stepping stone to a further sale.

The key question isn’t so much “do PE funds invest in Poland?” but rather: does our company fit the strategy of one of the active funds, and what type of deal would be most beneficial for the owners?