3TS Capital Partners backs eCift.com

3TS secured a minority stake in the business, investing via the Technology in Central and Eastern Europe Fund S.C.A SICAR vehicle. The VC fund was established by 3TS in 2007 with Cisco as the anchor investor. Its investment in eCift is in line with the Fund's focus on growth capital investments in technology, media and communications companies in CEE.

Co-investor iVCi was established in 2007 as a Turkey-focused fund-of-funds. Total fund commitments amount to €160m from public and private investors. The European Investment Fund is iVCi's adviser.

Shareholders directly approached 3TS, who were drawn to the deal due to the double digit percentage turnover growth the company sees month-on-month. According to Jozsef Köver, partner at 3TS, the fresh capital will accelerate further business development and enable eCift.com to offer its services outside of Turkey.

Company
eCift was established in 2009 by entrepreneurs Tamer and Akgün Kulmaç and Janset Çelik with the aim of helping Turkish speaking users find their perfect match. The business received equity financing in 2010 from business angels including co-founder of dating site Parship.de Konstantin Urban, and Hotel.de founder Stefan Morschheuser. eCift now has 1.5 million registered users and is cash-flow positive.

People
Jozsef Köver led the deal for 3TS alongside colleague Amir Jacobi, an investment manager based in 3TS Capital's Vienna office. Tamer Kulmaç, Akgün Kulmaç and Janset Çelik are founders of eCift.

• Tweet  
• Facebook  
• LinkedIn  
• Google plus  
• Send to  

• Topics
• CEE
• Technology
• Expansion
• Turkey