CEE
CZECH REPUBLIC - Mid Europa sells cable company
Central and Eastern European investor Mid Europa Partners (MEP) has sold its 82% stake in Czech cable company Karneval Media to UPC, the Czech Republic’s number one player. The EUR 322.5m deal saw the bankers of UPC (Deutsche Bank and JPMorgan) take...
ROMANIA - GED completes Romanian deal
GED Private Equity, a mid market investor in Iberia and South Eastern Europe, has acquired a majority stake in four Romanian mobile phone distributors in a EUR 4.5m deal. The investor plans to consolidate and rebrand the companies at the beginning of...
TURKEY - European Investment Fund and TTGV announce collaboration
The European Investment Fund (EIF) has signed a collaboration agreement with the Technology Development Foundation of Turkey (TTGV). TTGV is a non-governmental organisation that aims to support research, technology development and entrepreneurship, and...
LITHUANIA - CapMan exits Drobe
CapMan has sold its holding in Lithuanian Drobe Wool Company to Plaza Corporation, a Lithuanian industrial development company.The CapMan funds Finnventure IV and Finnventure V originally invested in Drobe in 2000 along with the European Bank for Reconstruction...
CROATIA - Mid Europa makes first Croatian investment
Central and Eastern European investor Mid Europa Partners has made its first investment in Croatia with its acquisition of Heidelberger Calcium Aluminates (HCA).
HUNGARY - Royalton sells educational publisher
Royalton Capital Investors, an investor in Central and Eastern Europe, has sold Hungarian educational publisher Láng Kiadó és Holding Zrt (Láng) to Sanoma WSOY Education, a Finnish educational publishing company. Financial terms of the deal were not...
POLAND - Bankier SA lists on Warsaw Stock Exchange
Polish finance portal Banker SA, a bmp portfolio company in which its managed fund CEEV GmbH holds a stake, listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange today. The opening price was PLN 8.25 per share, 10% over the issue price of PLN 7.50.
CROATIA - Mid Europa secures calcium aluminate business
Mid Europa Partners has acquired Heidelberger Calcium Aluminates from HeidelbergCement Group. The transaction includes Heidelberg Cement's 92.4% stake in Istra Cemment d.o.o., a production facility based in Croatia, as well as two trading entities in...
EUROPE - EVCA stats show returns improved in 2005
The European private equity industry’s final performance figures for 2005 show steadily improving returns across all parts of the industry. The long-term returns have now increased to more than 10% due to the improved performance of short-term returns...
EUROPE - EVCA appoints new chairman
At the annual ordinary general assembly of the European Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (EVCA) last night, Javier Loizaga, CEO and Managing Partner of Mercapital, was officially elected as association chairman for the period June 2006 to...
EUROPE - EVCA reports 2005 a record year for private equity
EVCA has announced the final fundraising, investment and divestment figures for European private equity in 2005 at its annual Symposium in Monte-Carlo. The annual figures show records for all three stages of activity in the industry. After three years...
TURKEY - AIG Capital Partners invests in Turkish retailer
AIG Capital Partners, a member company of AIG Global Investment Group, announced today it has indirectly acquired a substantial position in For You Bakým Ürünleri Maðazalar L.Þ. The investment, which also included participation by Eastern Retail...
EUROPE - Apax Partners publishes report on the future of private equity
Apax Partners, together with the Economist Intelligence Unit, has produced a report on the future of private equity. This follows a 2002 report in which it accurately predicted deal sizes increasing significantly and liquidity improving.
ROMANIA - AIG Capital Partners funds security provider
According to reports, AIG Capital Partners, the emerging markets private equity division of American International Group, has acquired a 30% stake in UTI Group. The company is a provider of security systems and services with headquarters in Romania. The...
EUROPE - First quarter European private equity exceeds EUR 30bn
For the fourth successive quarter, the total value of European private equity transactions has exceeded EUR 30bn, totalling EUR 34.2bn for the first quarter of 2006. This represents a 53% increase in the total value of transactions reported for the same...
GLOBAL - JPMorgan sells private equity portfolio
Press reports confirm that Goldman Sachs Asset Management and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board have co-led the secondary purchase of a US$925m stake in the JPMorgan Partners Global Fund from JPMorgan Chase.
ROMANIA - Advent sells Terapia for $324m
Advent International has sold its 96.7% stake in Terapia S.A., Romania’s leading generic pharmaceuticals manufacturer, to Ranbaxy Laboratories Limited for $324m.
CZECH REPUBLIC - Warburg Pincus exits LSE and Prague-listed Zentiva
Warburg Pincus has exited its stake in generic pharmaceutical supplier Zentiva N.V. Globally-active pharmaceutical developer Sanofi-Aventis has acquired a 24.876% stake in the company consisting of the 19.634% stake held by Warburg Pincus, a 4.507% stake...
BULGARIA - Mezzanine Management backs bottled water firm
Mezzanine Management, the independent mezzanine and private equity provider, has announced that its Central European fund, Accession Mezzanine Capital (AMC), has backed the institutional buyout of the Devin Group, the largest bottled water company in...
POLAND - Mid Europa completes Aster buyout
Mid Europa Partners, through its Emerging Europe Convergence Fund II, L.P., has completed the acquisition of Aster, a leading provider of media and communication services in Poland. The agreement to acquire Aster from Hicks Muse Tate & Furst was first...
ESTONIA - MartinsonTrigon brings MTV to the Baltics
MTV Network’s emerging markets team will run MTV Baltic’s operations, together with MartinsonTrigon's TVCorp, chaired by Allan Martinson, a local entrepreneur and creator of the first Baltic news agency.
ESTONIA - MartinsonTrigon launches TVCorp for international TV projects
MartinsonTrigon, the Baltic venture capital fund, has agreed to invest EUR 1.4m into OÜ TVCorp, a holding company which will be involved in various international TV projects.
EUROPE - LBO market smashes EUR 100bn barrier
2005 saw further significant growth in the European buyout market with the total value of deals topping EUR 100bn for the first time ever, according to the latest European Buyout Review due to be published in March 2006 by Incisive Media in association...
LITHUANIA - MartinsonTrigon acquires 100% of shares in MicroLink Lietuva
AS Martinson Trigon, a Tallinn-based investment fund, has acquired 100% of MicroLink Lietuva and IT training company Baltijos Kompiuteriu Akademija (BKA) from Lietuvos Telekomas.