Sandberg Capital enters Poland with majority stake in Carrot

• Deal marks Sandberg’s first platform investment in Poland and the final deal from its second fund
• Founder Witold Jaworski and Carrot’s management team retain a stake and stay involved in strategy
• Sandberg plans to back Carrot’s expansion into new markets across central and eastern Europe

Sandberg Capital, a private equity investment group focused on central and eastern Europe, has acquired a majority stake in Carrot, a Polish digital B2B platform for online auctions of vehicles following insurance claims, through its second fund, Sandberg Investment Fund II (SIF2). The deal is Sandberg’s first investment in Poland and the final investment made by SIF2.

Carrot connects insurance and leasing companies with a network of more than 20,000 professional buyers and facilitates the sale of about 30,000 vehicles each year. Beyond online auctions, the company provides business-to-business vehicle resale services and administrative support throughout the sales process. Founder Witold Jaworski built the company’s position in Poland through its proprietary technology platform and relationships with major insurance and leasing companies.

Sandberg intends to work with Jaworski and Carrot’s management team to support the company’s organic growth, broaden its technology offering and expand the business further across central and eastern Europe.

“Entering Poland represents an important strategic milestone for Sandberg,” said Michal Rybovic, managing partner at Sandberg Capital. “Carrot is the clear leader in its segment and has built a technology platform with a high-quality business model and significant potential for further growth…This is our first platform investment in Poland, creating a solid foundation for building our long-term presence in this market and opening up opportunities for the company’s further development and potential acquisitions.”

“Carrot has a strong position in its domestic market, a scalable technology-driven model and an experienced management team,” said Richard Flimel, partner at Sandberg Capital, in a statement. “Together with the founder and management team, we intend to support further organic growth, broaden the company’s service offering and gradually expand the business across Central and Eastern Europe.”

Poland’s motor insurance market is one of the largest and most developed in central and eastern Europe, with considerable room for further growth in vehicle sales following insurance claims, according to Sandberg. Poland also has one of the highest levels of car ownership per capita in Europe, which the firm said creates favorable conditions for Carrot’s continued growth.

Jaworski and key members of Carrot’s management team will remain shareholders in the company and continue to participate in its strategic direction.

Sandberg was advised on the transaction by KPMG Poland, CMS and Deloitte Poland, and the deal was financed by mBank.

Editor’s note: This news brief was produced with the assistance of artificial intelligence.