CEE
A Year of two halves
Daniel Morland of Close Brothers Corporate Finance assesses the state of the debt market at the end of what turned out to be a turbulent year
UK/SPAIN - LCA invests £2.5m into Classical Renaissance
Low Carbon Accelerator Ltd (LCA) has completed an investment of £2.5m, provided in the form of a profit participating loan, into Classical Renaissance España SL. As part of the deal, LCA will recieve an equity stake in Classical Renaissance Ltd, the...
ROMANIA - Royalton acquires a 95% stake in CertAsig
Royalton Capital Investors II has acquired, directly and through a capital increase, a 95% stake in CertAsig, a Romanian insurance company, from a consortium of Spanish investors.
UK/FRANCE - Platina announces EUR 75m close of fourth fund
Platina Finance Ltd has announced an intermediary close of its fourth fund, the European Renewable Energy Fund 1 LP (EREF), on EUR 75m. The fund was launched in October 2007 and is targeting a final close of EUR 250m by the end of 2008.
CEE - Aurora Russia invests £16.1m for a 24.3% stake in SuperStroy
Last December Aurora Russia Ltd announced an investment of £16.1m in cash for a 24.3% stake in Grindelia Holdings Ltd which owns 99.5% of Russian retail chain SuperStroy. Aurora Russia's investment will take the form of new equity and will be used to...
CEE - Consortium led by Columbia Capital to take over GTS Central Europe
A consortium of funds led by Columbia Capital, M/C Venture Partners and Innova Capital is set to take over Central Europe’s telecoms service provider, GTS Central Europe. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2008.
CEE - Enterprise Investors acquires STD Slovakia and Donivo MKD
Enterprise Investors ' Polish Enterprise Fund VI has invested EUR 23m in STD Slovakia and Doniva MKD, two Slovak transportation service providers. STD and Donivo will merge and operate under the STD Donivo brand. Founders of the two companies will retain...
CEE - AIG Capital Partners acquires Polish car battery recycler
AIG Capital Partners, a member company of AIG Investments, has acquired 100% of Polskie Przedsiêbiorstwo Ekologiczne, a business which owns 46% of battery recycling company Orzeł Biały S.A. The company is listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange.
ROMANIA – GED invests in travel and leisure company.
Through GED Eastern II Fund, Spanish buyout house GED has acquired Romanian corporate travel agency Happy Tour.
TURKEY – KSCC buys into Fon Financial Leasing
Kuwait-based Global Investment House KSCC has acquired a 60% stake in listed leasing and factoring company Fon Financial Leasing (FFK) for $120m form Turkey's Yýldýz Holding, which retains a 27.38% stake.
HUNGARY - Vienna Capital Partners increase stake in FHB
Austrian venture capital company Vienna Capital Partners Group is buying a further 9.5% of Hungarian bank FHB from HSBC. VCP already holds a 9.85% stake (6.5 million shares) in FHB purchased in March 2007 for approximately EUR 48m. HSBC, a transaction...
CEE - KBC acquires Hungarian toy wholesaler and retailer
KBC Private Equity has acquired Gulliver and Star-Toys from the Kovács and Kovalcsik families. Gulliver Group is a Hungary-based toy wholesaler and, under its Bambini-brand, toy retailer. The company distributes international toy brands to the Hungarian...
CEE - Goldman Sachs acquires stake in Dragon Capital
Goldman Sachs has acquired a minority stake in Dragon Capital, Ukraine’s largest securities brokerage, investment banking, private equity and asset management firm. Dragon Capital is listed on the Ukranian Stock Exchange. Dragon Capital's management...
BALTIC - BaltCap electronics portfolio company makes acquisition
BaltCap-backed Hanzas Elektronika (HE), an electronic manufacturing services company based in Latvia, has acquired Sweden's fifth largest business in the same sector, Elektromekan i Årjäng AB. Elektromekan was acquired from Westergyllen AB for an undisclosed...
CEE - Advent International strengthens team
Advent International has recruited Dan Morgan and Albena Vassileva as new principals to its Central & Eastern Europe team. This brings the number of new hires this year to six, and increases the size of the team dedicated to the region to sixteen people.
BULGARIA - Advent backs tile maker KAI
Advent International has acquired a 70% stake in KAI Group, the largest maker of floor, wall and decorative ceramic tiles in Bulgaria.
CEE - Horizon Capital invests in FinComBank and MTB
Horizon Capital has acquired a 25% stake in Moldova-based FinComBank and a 31.5% stake in Belarus-based MTB, expanding its financial institution portfolio further.
ROMANIA - Advent International acquires Ceramica for EUR 35m
Advent International has acquired a 70% stake in Bucharest-listed Ceramica Iasi, a ceramic bricks and clay roof tiles producer. The transaction total was EUR 35m including new investment. Advent has brought in a new management team following the acquisition.
HUNGARY - Riverside adds Novamed to Diatron
The Riverside Company has acquired Novamed , an Israeli company operating in the field of microbiology and infectious disease testing. The company is an add-on to the platform company Diatron , a Hungarian-based manufacturer of haematology analysers...
CZECH REPUBLIC - Warburg Pincus acquires NetCentrum
Warburg Pincus has acquired NetCentrum, the second largest internet company in the Czech Republic. The co-founders are retaining a minority stake, and the shareholders will reinvest part of the transaction proceeds in the company.
CEE - Providence invests EUR 136m in Volia Cable
Providence Equity Partners has invested over EUR 136m in Volia Cable in the largest private equity transaction in Ukraine. Volia Cable was controlled by UGF III, a SigmaBleyzer-managed private equity fund, which still retains an undisclosed equity stake...
EUROPE - CVC launches new infrastructure business
CVC Capital Partners has announced the launch of a new infrastructure investment business, with Stephen Vineberg appointed as chief executive.