Bancroft launches third CEE fund

Fund

Bancroft Group is raising its third fund dedicated to Central and Eastern Europe, Bancroft 3 LP. The London-based fund has a target of EUR250m. It is a Jersey limited partnership with a 10-year lifespan and usual extension provisions.

In 1996, Bancroft launched the Bancroft Eastern Europe Fund LP, which made seven investments in media, telecommunications, and manufacturing in Hungary, the Czech Republic, Romania and in a pan-European company. Six years later, in November 2002, Bancroft II LP was launched, a fund targeting the same region as Bancroft I with the addition of Turkey.

Investors

The minimum subscription is set at EUR10m and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, has proposed to invest equity up to EUR30m, which should not exceed 20% of the fund's total commitment.

Investments

Bancroft 3 is a generalist vehicle that will focus on investments in mid-size companies with enterprise value between EUR50-150m across CEE, Greece and Turkey. It intends to make two to three investments per year seeking controlling stakes for between EUR20-35m equity investments. The fund does not rule out co-investing, but it would try to do so as a lead investor. The core exit strategy consists of trade-sale, but the vehicle does not exclude IPO and secondary buyouts.

People

The new vehicle will be managed by a team of seven partners, headed up by the Bancroft Group's founder, Fred Martin. The team will include one partner based in Prague and three in Budapest, including Tamas Szalai. Each of these partners has worked at Bancroft for over six years. There will also be a partner based in Istanbul, who joined the group two years ago, and Agis Hiliarhopoulos will head the firm's new Athens office seeking new opportunities in the wider Balkan region. At least one more partner is expected to join the team in the near future.

Name: Bancroft 3 LP

Target: EUR250m

Launched: April 2008

Focus: Expansion, buyout

Contact: Fred Martin

Address: 195 Brompton Road, London, SW3 1NE, UK

Tel: +44 20 7823 9222

Fax: +44 20 7589 3442.

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