KBC and GIMV go 50/50 over Russian investments

GIMV and KBC Private Equity have together set up a joint venture, Eagle Capital Partners, in which both will have an equal shareholding. Eagle Capital Partners will advise both partners on private equity investments in the Russian market. GIMV and KBC Private Equity plan to invest a total of EUR60m in the 2008-2010 period, that is EUR30m each over the next three years. The investments involved will be taken directly onto their balance sheets on a 50/50 basis.

For KBC Private Equity, the partnership represents a step towards expanding its activities in Central and Eastern Europe. The partnership can call on the experience of Absolut Bank that KBC acquired last year. Based in Moscow, Absolut Bank is a commercial bank that offers short- and medium-term loans, trade finance, cash management, leasing, and capital and money market products to both small and mid-sized companies in Russia. For GIMV, the partnership is a follow-up to the Eagle Russia Fund it launched in 2006. Through its majority shareholding in Eagle Venture Partners (www.evp.ru), the management company of Eagle Russia Fund and other funds, GIMV has been active in Russia since 1996.

The fund will invest EUR3m-20m in medium-sized Russian companies in a variety of sectors including food and beverages, personal and household care, leisure, building materials, packaging, pharmaceuticals, retail and distribution, telecoms and engineering. It will aim to build up a portfolio of four or eight unlisted companies over the next three years, for a total of EUR20m a year. Initially, the partnership will take substantial minority stakes, although it does not rule out the possibility of taking majority shareholding as well. Eagle Capital Partner's investments team comprises six Russians and two Western European professionals from GIMV and KBC.

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

• Topics
• Industry
• DACH
• Consumer
• Technology