Romania

The EBRD is considering an €80 million financing package for Romanian agricultural processor Expur S.A. The project passed concept review and now awaits further Board action.

Spanish private equity firm GED continues its aggressive push to lead the Romanian travel industry with the recent acquisition of Travel House. GED acquired 80% of the company just weeks after making a deal for Pravion.ro, an online airline ticket sales portal. GED already owns corporate travel agency Happy Tour, which it acquired in late 2007, and plans to enhance that company's service through this latest acquisition. Travel House will continue to operate under the current management team and brand name.

Balkan investment management company Axxess Capital has announced a recent investment in Noriel Group, a leading producer of popular games and toys in Romania. The €7 million equity investment was made on behalf of the Balkan Accession Fund (BAF) which is managed by Axxess. The deal gives BAF a 40% stake in Noriel through the purchase of both existing shares and newly issued shares. BAF's involvement paves the way for Noriel to expand retail operations outside of the local area, and the country, with hopes of making it a major player in the Balkan region.

In a move that brings an end to a three-year investment, 3TS Capital Partners/3i has agreed to sell its majority stake in Romanian medical services company Centrul Medical Unirea (CMU) to Advent International. Joining the sale are CMU's founders who own a minority stake.

Profi Rom Food Group, a leading Romanian grocery chain, is preparing for new ownership following a takeover announcement by Enterprise Investors (EI). Enterprise has reached a formal agreement to acquire 100% of Profi Rom from Duna Waiting Participation, for a price of €66 million. The acquisition will be made through EI's Polish Enterprise Fund VI and will give the private investment company full ownership of not only Profi Rom, but Albinuta Shops and DT Logistic as well.

Czech power giant CEZ has completed months of negotiations with Romania's Electrica SA by reaching an agreement to acquire full ownership of CEZ Distributie and CEZ Vanzare. The two Romanian energy providers have been part of CEZ group since a 2005 privatization deal in which the group acquired 51% of each company. CEZ paid more than €145 million for the 19% owned by Electrica SA, and combined with a 30% stake previously acquired from Fondul Proprietata, now owns both companies 100%.

With the current high demand for efficient energy in Romania, European private equity firm GED has made a substantial investment in Romania's Total Eurobusiness (TEB). GED total investment in TEB is roughly €12 million. The investment gives GED a 60% stake in Romania's top energy cogeneration company.

The majority shareholder of Romanian insurance firm ARDF is poised to delist it from the RASDAQ market after acquiring what remains of the company's shares. Generali PPF plans a public offer for mandatory takeover of ARDF, at a cost of up to RON 21.58 million. The outstanding shares amount to 18% of the total, or 196,206,286 shares.

Beer producer Heineken Romania has reached a formal agreement with Romanian businessman Ioan Bălan for the sale of its mineral water division. The water division was acquired with the acquisition of Bere Mures last year but isn't a good fit with Heineken's core business strategy of beer production. Mr. Bălan, former owner and manager of Romanian dairy producer Covalact, first became involved in the investment business after selling Covalact to Sigma Bleyzer in 2007 for EUR 7 million.

Petrom, the Romanian oil and gas producer, has secured a loan from the EBRD for up to €300 million. Half of the capital will come in from of a direct EBRD loan, while the renaming amount will be provided through a group of commercial banks. Petrom will use the loan to fund a series of projects aimed decreasing pollution, updating infrastructure, and establishing new environmental and safety standards.