Penta Considering Possible IPO for Fortuna Betting Chain

Penta Investments may be considering an IPO in the near future for portfolio company Fortuna, Central Europe's largest betting chain operation. Penta, which owns 100% of Fortuna, considers an IPO to be one of the options available to further develop Fortuna and strengthen its position in the region. The company believes it could raise as much as €100 million on the Warsaw and Prague stock exchanges.

The IPO would be a huge boost for the Prague exchange which hasn't seen any new activity since May 2008. Unicredit CAIB is rumoured to have been hired to manage the transaction which may occur sometime during the first half of 2010.

Fortuna Group (www.ifortuna.cz)
Fortuna Group consists of four companies located in the Czech Republic, Croatia, Poland, and Slovakia, active as Central Europe's largest betting shop chain. Fortuna boats more than 1,500 branch locations in major cities across the region, each one holding to local and regional requirements.

As of 2008, Fortuna served in excess of 250,000 customers daily and generated revenues of €235 million. The company is based in Prague and employs just over 3,200 people.

Penta Investments (www.pentainvestments.com)
Founded in 1994 as a securities trading company, Penta Investments provides private equity and real estate investment in Russia and Central and Eastern Europe. Penta prefers investments in the engineering, entertainment, healthcare, metallurgy, telecom, transportation, retail, and utilities sectors, with an average life of 3 to 5 years. The firm invests via restructuring projects, buyouts, and buy-ins.