Blogs

In a continuing bid to reduce a very heavy debt load, UK private equity firm 3i has put two of its largest German assets on the block. Norma Group, a manufacturer of metal and plastic connectors, will undergo an Initial Public Offering in 2011 which could produce up to €700 million for 3i. Engine maker MWM, on the other hand, will be auctioned off later this year for an amount 3i hopes will be in the €500 million range.

Poland's Enterprise Investors (EI) recently made public its plans to increase investment in Macon, the building materials company it acquired in 2006. Plans call for EI to acquire an existing aerated autoclaved concrete (AAC) producer and build or acquire a third production plant to cover the southeastern portion of Poland. The expansion plans are slated to be complete by the end of 2012;

As Belgium's KBC reaches the mid-point of a multi-year plan to shed some of its more risky assets, the company has canceled plans to sell its private equity business after being unable to secure high enough bids for the portfolio. KBC had agreed to shed some €39 billion in assets as part of a €7 billion state support package secured in 2008.

Invitel Holdings, the Hungarian telecom majority-owned by Mid Europa Partners, is reportedly in the early stages of negotiations that could possibly result in the sale of its entire international wholesale business to Türk Telekom. Mid Europa first invested in Invitel in 2009, acquiring just over 64%. The firm increased its holding to 91.8% through two additional acquisition moves which were completed in January 2010. Should a deal with Türk Telekom be successfully reached it would include Invitel subsidiaries AT-Invitel, EuroWeb Romania, and Invitel International. Some estimates put the value of Invitel's Hungarian operations near €250 million.

Looking to complete the sale of ICQ and put it behind them, AOL has accepted the bids of a limited number potential buyers for the pioneer internet chat service. Though at least seven legitimate offers came in, AOL has narrowed the list of buyers to Russia's Digital Sky Technologies and ProfMedia, China's Tencent, and possibly one more which remains unnamed.

Looking for the next big internet wave to ride, Digital Sky Technologies (DST) is apparently looking at the website of a 17 year-old student from Moscow. Andrey Ternovskiy's Chatroulette.com is a video chat site whose daily usage is nearly 1.5 million users, an audience that has captured the attention of DST and other potential investors including Google, Skype, and Union Square Ventures. Mr. Ternovskiy has declined the offer for now, even as he prepares to travel to the U.S. to entertain offers from American investors. Industry estimates suggest the value of Chatroulette could be anywhere from USD 13.5 million to 40.5 million.

Baring Vostok Capital Partners, the Moscow-based private equity firm, could be on the verge of a major investment in one of Russia's leading children's entertainment ventures. BVCP and Riki Group, producers of the popular Smeshariki cartoon television series, seem to be in the final stages of working a deal that would give BVCP a stake in Riki of 45%-47%.

Poland's PKN Orlen has announced it has put Czech chemical company Spolana Neratovice on the sale block and will enter final talks with three possible buyers in January 2010. The names of the buyers have not been disclosed, nor has the sale price, but estimates suggest PKN Orlen could make more than Kč 10 billion as it combines Spolana's Neratovice production facilities with the rest of its chemical industry assets in its Anwil subsidiary for the sale.

Fresh from a spin-off from Time Warner, AOL's Tim Armstrong is looking to sell the ICQ instant-messaging service for a possible USD 200 million to USD 300 million. Digital Sky Technologies, the global internet holding company, is currently engaged in negotiations with AOL though they are still in the early stages.

Quintura reports the internet domain name russia.com was recently sold through Sedo, the one-stop-shop for registration, trading, brokering and parking of domain names and web sites. An unknown buyer paid USD 1.5 million for the domain which was originally registered by NewMedia Holdings in 1995 and licensed to Seattle-based Paley Media. In addition to russia.com, NewMedia & Paley operate many nation-related sites including algeria.com, nepal.com, scotland.com. and ukraine.com, most of which are oriented toward tourism. The russia.com website sees about 9,000 unique visitors per month which may account for the relatively low sale price.