Eurowag is a Czech digital platform aiming to transform service provision for freight carriers. Much like ride-hailing company Uber, it offers European haulers a wide range of services in a single app—from payments and fuel cards to tax refunds and fleet management.
“Eurowag appeals to me for several reasons. The first is valuation, where I like to start. The next is the fundamentals. It’s a type of business with a very well-diversified customer base that generates recurring revenues,” Barta told Seznam Zprávy Byznys. According to him, another advantage is that the company can sell its customer base additional freight services that help them run their businesses more effectively.
Barta did not want to specify the exact size of his investment. However, according to SZ Byznys, it amounts to several hundred million of CZK, giving him a stake of a few percent in Eurowag. Barta is also friends with Eurowag’s owner, Martin Vohánka—the two most recently joined forces to help save the historic railway bridge at Prague’s Výtoň. Still, Barta sees further reasons for his investment that, in his view, will drive the company’s growth. “Eurowag’s penetration in Europe remains in the low single-digit percentages if we look at the European truck fleet. There’s also a huge opportunity in digitalization and its cost-saving potential,” Barta says.
Last but not least, Barta values the fact that Eurowag is still led by its Czech founder, Martin Vohánka, who, he says, knows how to treat minority shareholders and upholds high standards of corporate governance. Vohánka continues to hold the largest stake in Eurowag, which ranks among the most valuable Czech companies according to Seznam Zprávy’s Czech Elite ranking.
Eurowag’s shares have struggled since their listing on the London Stock Exchange in October 2021. Only in recent months have they begun to recover, which may be linked to Barta’s purchases. The company’s current market capitalization stands at CZK 20.6 billion.
Jan Barta is a Czech investor, philanthropist, and co-founder of the investment group Pale Fire Capital. A great-great-grandson of renowned inventor František Křižík, he first made his name in the internet business by trading domain names. He later co-founded the portal ePojištění, which was eventually sold to German investors.
Together with colleagues such as Dušan Šenkypl, he established Pale Fire Capital, which invests in companies like Aukro, Rouvy, and Mubi, as well as in publicly traded firms worldwide, including energy and telecom companies like RWE and Britain’s BT Group, and even the discount platform Groupon.
