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Central and Eastern Europe: July 2003

Mezzanine Management holds final close, EBRD invests in Hungarian fund and Barings looks to Central Europe once again…

Baring planning second Central European fund
Baring Private Equity Partners, the private equity division of Dutch bank ING, is planning to launch a second fund focusing on Central and Eastern Europe. The firm's debut fund closed on E86m in 2001 and has made seven investments across Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland and Romania, as well as having achieved one exit. The new fund, which is targeted to raise two to three times as much capital as the first, will focus on mid-market, old economy investments of between E10m to E25m. It will also look to increase its geographical reach by considering investments in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
PrivateEquityOnline 17.7.03

Mezzanine Management holds final close for Central European fund on E115m
Mezzanine Management has held a final close for its pioneering Central European fund on E115m. Accession Mezzanine Management (AMC) secured commitments from 13 institutional investors, with just over a third of the capital sourced from Austria. The fund will focus on buy-out investments and development capital financings led by a private equity sponsor. AMC does not have a sector focus and ‘will typically invest in mature businesses with strong and stable cash flows'. Average investment size is expected to be between E5m and E15m in deals with transaction sizes up to E200m.
AltAssets 14.7.03

US SigmaBleyzer to launch $100m fund for South East Europe accession states
The Ukraine-based US fund manager SigmaBleyzer is to launch a $100m private equity fund to invest in South East European accession states ahead of their entry to the European Union in 2007. The fund will be launched next year. It will be raised in two $50m tranches and will target high-tech investments in sectors including telecoms and software development. The fund will also consider investments in tourism, processing industries and agricultural sectors. SigmaBleyzer has previously raised three private equity funds in the Ukraine.
AltAssets 8.7.03

EBRD backs Euroventures Hungary Fund III
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development has committed E15m to Euroventures Hungary III, the latest private equity fund to target one of the EU accession states. The fund, which has a final target of E75m, will invest in medium-sized companies in the buy-out, expansion or development stage, investing between E2m and E5m. The EBRD investment will be made in conjunction with Hungarian pension funds through a specially designed vehicle. The vehicle will allow the pension funds to commit to the Euroventures' fund , providing them with access to the asset class for the first time. Hungary-based Euroventures is backed by ABN Amro.
PrivateEquityOnline 24.7.03