J&T's Arch II fund buys €150M stake in Šmejc's EMMA Alpha

What's the deal? J&T Private Equity GroupDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →'s J&T Arch II fund has bought an 8.1% stake in EMMA Alpha Holding, the main investment platform of Jiří Šmejc's EMMA CapitalDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, for €150 million (roughly 3.7 billion Czech crowns). The purchase came directly from Šmejc, completed through shared vehicle Arem Capital Holding.

What's the endgame? This is a follow-on, not a new partnership. Combined with sister fund J&T Arch InvestmentsDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, J&T now holds 16.7% of EMMA Alpha through the shared entity, deepening a relationship that began in March 2024.

Why now? J&T Arch II, launched in the first half of 2026, raised nearly €300 million from investors in its first subscription period. The EMMA deal is the fund's second investment and gives it exposure to a diverse private-asset portfolio.

EMMA Alpha holds betting group Entain CEEDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, energy group Premier EnergyDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, logistics firm PacketaDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, parcel-locker operator BoxNow, and healthcare investments including Magna MedTech Group.

By the numbers: J&T Arch Investments first invested in EMMA Alpha in March 2024. Its indirect stake grew to 8.6% and delivered about 23% annual returns, the fund says. It restructured that original investment alongside the new purchase.

"The partnership with Jiří Šmejc and his EMMA Capital group has proven itself over the long term, and not only in business terms," said Adam Tomis, a member of the funds' investment committee (translated from Czech). "It is therefore natural for us to deepen it further and extend it to the J&T Arch II fund's portfolio."

EMMA Capital, founded by Šmejc in 2012, focuses mainly on European Union markets and typically takes an active role in companies where it holds a stake. J&T Arch is J&T group's main investment platform; its older fund, J&T Arch Investments, launched in 2020 and is the largest fund in Central Europe.

The signal: The deal reflects J&T raising its bet on Šmejc's investment empire at a moment of expansion for EMMA, which recently agreed to buy a further 20% of Entain CEE for €395 million and announced medical-technology acquisitions.

Read more: e15.cz

Image credit: Generated with Gemini