Bulgaria
Posted Tue, 26/01/2010 - 00:15
Last September, American buyout firm Advent International purchased a 79% stake in Devin AD from Austria's Soravia Group, with plans to acquire the remaining shares in a takeover bid. Now Advent is poised to delist the Bulgarian water bottler from the Bulgaria Stock Exchange after it completes the acquisition of 95% of company shares. The Bulgarian government has approved Advent's proposal which designates Elana Trading to complete the buyout and the sets the price Advent will pay at BGN 3.50 per share.
Posted Thu, 07/01/2010 - 14:51
EuroLease Auto Bulgaria is poised to receive a €10 million senior loan after the EBRD Board issued final approval as part of its ongoing support of small and medium-sized leasing businesses. The deal only awaits final signatures before becoming part of a total financing package for EuroLease which includes at least one Bulgarian commercial bank.
Posted Thu, 12/11/2009 - 13:30
In a deal reached late last week, Armenian businessmen Gagik and Djavair Tsarukyan have agreed to purchase the Gorna Banya Bottling Company for €25 million. The Bulgarian water bottler is under a mountain of debt including €4 million in short-term loans and €12 million in long-term bank loans. Up to 80% of the money raised in the deal will be used to help reduce the load. Pavlin Ivanov and Roumen Tsvetkov, two of the other Gorna Banya partners, have also sold their interests in the company.
Posted Sun, 01/11/2009 - 17:51
Two of Bulgaria's top cable and internet providers will merge to form the largest company of its kind in the country, thanks to deal that has EQT acquiring both entities. EQT has secured 100% ownership of Eurocom and 70% of CableTel for a combined total of €200 million. The remaining 30% of CableTel is owned by Ron Finley who has committed to rolling his stake into the new company.
Posted Sun, 18/10/2009 - 20:25
Anheuser-Busch InBev (ABI) continues to make good on its divestiture plans by announcing it has signed an agreement to sell its Central European operations to CVC Capital Partners. CVC will purchase the assets for roughly $2.2 billion with a commitment to make a future $800 million payment if it recovers the initial investment.
Posted Tue, 13/10/2009 - 23:46
After purchasing the remaining 80% of Auto Union Centre to become the sole owner just a few months ago, Eurohold Bulgaria has sold the building complex to Bluehouse Capital for € 27.3 million. Auto Union Center is located in the Bulgarian capital of Sofia and houses an office complex with the same name. Claiming a profit of € 7 million from the sale, Eurohold will use the capital to satisfy outstanding debt owed to Piraeus Bank Bulgaria as well as invest in its remaining businesses. The company will continue as a tenant of the Auto Union Center office complex for now.
Posted Tue, 13/10/2009 - 23:34
Mid Europa Partners, the CEE private equity firm, recently announced the completion of their acquisition of ITV Partner, a Bulgarian satellite pay TV provider. The deal adds to Mid Europa's already established cable TV and direct-to-home (DTH) holdings in South East Europe, a sector the company includes as part of its investment strategy. Other similar Mid Europa holdings in the region include Telemach, Total TV, and SBB.
Posted Wed, 07/10/2009 - 21:54
The EBRD has announced plans to provide a substantial financing package to one of Bulgaria’s top dairy producers. Fama, the third largest supplier of milk products in Bulgaria, will use the €5.5 million mezzanine loan to increase its market share through the construction of three new facilities in its strongest markets and the development of more long-life products.
Posted Sun, 27/09/2009 - 20:48
After several months of searching, Austrian investor Soravia Group has reached a deal to sell it's stake in Devin AD to private equity firm Advent International, who will purchase a 75% stake in the Bulgarian beverage company through a share purchase. A takeover bid will follow to acquire all the remaining shares except the 6.75% Devin management will retain.
Posted Tue, 18/08/2009 - 16:06
Equest Investments Balkans, Ltd. (EIB) and Uniqa International Beteiligungs-Verwaltungs GmbH (Uniqa International) have reached an agreement giving Uniqa International the remaining EIB shares of Uniqa Bulgaria. The deal, worth € 7.9 million, completes a working agreement the companies had put in place allowing Uniqa International to acquire Uniqa Bulgaria over the course of several years. EIB plans to use the cash to restructure some of its debts while developing its core businesses.
Posted Wed, 05/08/2009 - 15:58
Swedish investor EQT Funds Management is in the process of acquiring Bulgarian cable TV and internet provider Eurocom Cable Management, after government regulators gave their approval to the transaction. Should the deal be completed, acquisition will be made via EQT's managed fund, EGT V Ltd., which earlier acquired CableTEL.
Posted Mon, 20/07/2009 - 22:54
After confirming in May that Bulgarian bottled water producer Devin was on the sale block, the Soravia Group has now entered exclusive talks with Global private equity firm Advent International. The talks, which began on July 13th, are aimed at creating a deal to give Advent an 82% stake in Devin including Soravia's 75.3%. At least three other potential buyers have been angling for position in case the deal falls through. Argus Capital and Balkan Accession Fund have been mentioned as two of the others buyers, the third is unknown.
Posted Fri, 17/07/2009 - 15:19
U.S. based Advent International is poised to complete a takeover of Central and Eastern European drug maker Ozone. The companies are now in the final talks that would give Advent, also the owner of LaborMed, full ownership of Ozone's product lines. The buyout offer had been accepted by Ozone earlier this month, giving control of the company's portfolio to LaborMed.
Posted Fri, 05/06/2009 - 15:09
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is considering an investment in a new private equity fund designed for the Balkans. Although still in the concept stage, the new fund's size could be as much as EUR 200 million with the EBRD's investment upwards of EUR 40 million. The proposed name of the fund is Emerging Europe Accession Fund and will be managed by Axxess Capital 3 N.V.
Posted Mon, 04/05/2009 - 00:00
Independent media in Eastern Europe is taking a step forward as the EBRD announced it is investing in the eastern European operations of the WAZ Media Group. EBRD's equity investment for a stake in the WAZ operations could be as much as €40 million. The WAZ Group's work in developing high quality, professional, and politically and economically independent media in Eastern Europe fits into the ERBD's mandate to encourage sustainable economical development in the region.
Posted Thu, 23/04/2009 - 00:00
European investment firm Equest Investments Balkans Limited (EIB) has announced an agreement to sell its 80% stake in Avto Union AD to Avto's only other shareholder, Eurohold Bulgaria Inc. Due to the declining automotive industry throughout the region, EIB made the decision to include Avto Union, a Bulgarian automotive products wholesaler, as part of its non-core asset disposal program. The cash deal has been valued at EUR 8 million and includes both the business and real estate.
Posted Wed, 25/02/2009 - 11:58
Bulgarian holding firm Eurohold Bulgaria has increased its total investment in Euroins, a local blue-chip insurance firm, adding to a previous investment that was made late last year. Eurohold's stake in the company is now at 76.5% after the purchase of 1.75 million additional shares. The purchase price was set at BGN 4 per share with BGN 1 par value. The infusion of cash now puts Euroins' capital near BGN 12 million, helping to offset losses the company suffered in 2008.
Posted Tue, 24/02/2009 - 15:36
Popular hotel booking website TVTrip.com has raised USD 9 million in new funding, adding to previously secured funding of $4.8 million. Previous investors Balderton Capital and Partech International were joined in this round of funding by AGF Private Equity.
Posted Tue, 10/02/2009 - 01:00
3TS Capital Partners, a CEE-focused growth capital firm, has acquired a 16.77 percent stake in online media company Investor.bg. 3TS Capital Partners made the purchase of the Bulgarian-listed company using the firm's 3TS Cisco Growth Fund, established in November 2007 with Cisco Systems Inc. The purchase was made at USD 8.2 per share to the total sum of USD 1.6 million. Investor.bg plans on retaining its existing management and employee structure.
Posted Mon, 15/12/2008 - 01:00
According to a press release from Bulgarian Telecommunications Company (BTC), the company has sold National Unit Radio and TV Systems (NURTS), the company's broadcasting operation, to Oesterreichischer Rundfunksender GmbH & Co KG (ORS).
