New security leader M2CS

It is honor to inform you about estabilishing of a new international company M2CS - the biggest provider of security services in the middle and eastern Europe – a company that was created by merging 2 enterprises Mark 2 Corporation and City Security.

The aim of this is to meet the highest demands for our clients, provide the best-quality services and dictate the trends in the security field.

We are proud to announce you, that the new company is also partnering with the National Rugby Team, because it is a sport, that combines bravery, power, team effort and honor, which represent the spirit and the values that M2CS stands for.

Innova creates GWP for PLN 375m

Innova Capital has bought Polish internet portal Wirtualna Polska (WP) and merged it with Grupa o2 in a transaction totalling PLN 375m.

          

The Polish private equity house bought WP through its acquisition vehicle European Media Holding from Polish Orange subsidiary Telekomunikacja Polska.
Innova will merge WP with Grupa o2, a Polish internet publisher, with both businesses now operating under the name Grupa Wirtualna Polska (GWP). GWP will be on the lookout for add-on acquisitions in the near future, the GP said.
Innova financed the acquisiton via its Innova/5 LP fund, which held its final close on €302.09m in 2009. A debt package for the transaction was also provided.
Company
Wirtualna Polska is an internet portal, operating as an information, communication and advertising platform in Poland. The firm has more than 3 million users every month.
WP was founded in 1995 and is based in Warsaw.
People
Krzysztof Krawczyk is managing partner of Innova. Jacek Świderski sits on Grupa o2's management board. Grzegorz Tomasiak is the CEO of Wirtualna Polska. Bruno Duthoit is president of the board and CEO of Orange Polska.

KEY FACTS

Wirtualna Polska
DEAL - Buyout
VALUE - PLN 375m
LOCATION - Warsaw
SECTOR - Media
FOUNDED - 1995
VENDOR - Telekomunikacja Polska

Tar Heel backs Rockfin in first investment from Fund II

Tar Heel Capital has acquired a 60% stake in Rockfin, a Polish supplier of hydraulic and pressure systems.

           

This is the maiden investment for Tar Heel Capital II, which closed on €50m in September 2012 following a three-month fundraising period. The vehicle acquires majority stakes in Polish SMEs.

Rockfin's founder will retain the remainder of the shares in the business. The company will use the fresh capital to develop its production plant and to potentially finance acquisitions.

Company
Founded in 1991, Rockfin designs and distributes hydraulic oil systems, including lubrication, drive and control, industrial oil filtration, and maintenance systems.

Rockfin posted a €32m turnover in 2012 and is based in Chwaszczyno, Poland.

People
Grzegorz Bielowicki led the deal for Tar Heel. Wojciech Danek is the CEO and previous owner of Rockfin.

KEY FACTS

Rockfin
DEAL - Buyout
VALUE - n/d (<€20m est)
LOCATION - Chwaszczyno
SECTOR - Industrial machinery
FOUNDED - 1991
TURNOVER - €32m

MCI backs Answear.com

MCI Management has invested in Polish online fashion retailer Answear.com in return for a minority stake.

           

The firm invested in the company via its MCI Tech Ventures fund, a PLN 301m vehicle with a focus on e-commerce, digital media and mobile internet.

The MCI Tech Ventures fund typically invests anywhere between €1.5-25m per transaction, the firm's website states. According to reports, this deal's value was in the range of €1.5-2.5m.

The fresh capital will be used by Answear to expand into additional countries located in the CEE region, as well as introduce an own-brand label and increase its promotional offers.

Warsaw-based MCI, a listed venture capital firm, focuses its growth investments on the technology and healthcare sectors in the CEE and DACH regions, as well as Turkey and the former Soviet bloc states.

Company
Founded in 2011, Answear is based in Krakow. The company is an online multi-brand clothing retailer, offering 15,000 products across 200 brands on the site. Answear also owns one store in a shopping centre in Kielce.

People
Krzysztof Bajołek is the founder and president of Wearco, Answear's holding company. MCI partner Sylwester Janik led the deal for the firm and also manages the MCI Tech Ventures fund.

KEY FACTS

Answear.com
DEAL - Expansion
VALUE - n/d (€1.5-2.5m est)
LOCATION - Krakow
SECTOR - Clothing & accessories
FOUNDED - 2011

Mid Europa exits SBB/Telemach to KKR for €1bn

Mid Europa Partners has divested Serbian pay TV provider SBB/Telemach Group to KKR, reaping a 3x return on its original investment.

          

The deal sees Mid Europa generating close to a 3x blended return on its original investment from two funds via the exit. The deal constitutes one of the largest private equity exits in the CEE region.

The deal represents New York-based KKR's first investment in Eastern Europe. Liberty Global, Providence and Cinven also bid for the business, according to the Financial Times. Mobile phone operator Telekom Austria reportedly withdrew from the bidding process.

Mid Europa acquired Serbian pay TV and broadband internet provider SBB from Bedminster Capital Management in June 2007. The transaction saw Bedminster reinvest alongside Mid Europa to acquire a minority stake through its Southeast Europe Equity Fund II. The transaction value was said to be between €170-200m. Unicredit Markets and Investment Banking acted as sole underwriter and mandated lead arranger of the €81m financing package.

Mid Europa's plan was to grow the company through add-on acquisitions. In December 2012, Mid Europa merged Serbia Broadband (SBB) with Slovenian telecoms business Telemach Group, refinancing the group with €333m of senior debt.

Since Mid Europa's original investment, which came from its Emerging Europe Convergence Fund II, the company has acquired an additional 18 businesses, which together with SBB comprise the group today.

SBB/Telemach has expanded its operations to include six countries in the CEE region. During Mid Europa's holding period, its EBITDA has grown at an annual rate of 37%.

Company
SBB was founded in Belgrade in 2002 and merged with Slovenian company Telemach in 2012. SBB/Telemach Group is a provider of home entertainment and communication services in the CEE region.

Today the group offers cable and satellite TV, internet and fixed and mobile telephone services to 1.5 million subscribers in six countries, including Serbia, Slovenia, Bosnia, Croatia, Montenegro and Macedonia.

People
Robert Knorr is a senior partner of Mid Europa. The Mid Europa execution team included associate director Andrej Babache, as well as Stefan Tzvetkov, Viktoria Habanova, Matthias Dukat and Krzysztof Jedrzejek. Dragan Solak is founder and chairman of SBB

 

KEY FACTS

SBB/Telemach Group

DEAL - Exit

VALUE - €1bn est

LOCATION - Belgrade

SECTOR - Media

FOUNDED - 2002

VENDOR - Mid Europa Partners

RETURNS - 3x

 

Mid Europa builds out mountain tourism group

Acquisition follows purchase of PKL, the largest mountain tourism operator in Poland.

 

Mid Europa Partners has struck a deal with Polish banks PZU and PKO, buying ski lift operator Kolej Gondolowa Jaworzyna Krynicka off them.

The acquisition was made as an add-on to Polskie Koleje Linowe, the largest mountain tourism operator in Poland, which Mid Europa bought in May.

Jaworzyna Krynicka is located in Krynica, Poland's second most popular mountain tourist destination.

Mid Europa, which has identified leisure and tourism as a growth opportunity, aims to consolidate the sector further through platform Polskie Koleje Gorskie.

The deal marks new territory for Mid Europa, which broke into private equity investing in the healthcare and telecoms sectors, and is a sign of Poland's maturing economy.

According to the World Tourism Organisation, Poland ranked as Europe's 11th most popular destination in 2011, ahead of Croatia and the Czech Republic.

While business trips make up the bulk of visits, leisure tourism is steadily rising, with arrivals in the country last year increasing by 11 per cent to 14.8 million.

When Poland co-hosted the Euro 2012 football championship with Ukraine last year, 700,000 visited the country, 85 to 90 per cent of whom said they would consider returning for a holiday.

Bridgepoint seals second Warsaw deal

Bridgepoint's only other deal in Warsaw is CTL Logistics, which it bought in 2008.

 

Polish private label biscuits firm Dr Gerard has been sold by Groupe Poult to Bridgepoint, marking the second deal from the private equity house's Warsaw office.

The biscuit maker operates from three sites across Poland and employs more than 950 people.

Like other sectors in Eastern Europe, Poland's biscuits market is highly fragmented, with four players holding around a third of the space. Bridgepoint is anticipating market growth of six per cent per annum.

Bridgepoint's only other deal in Warsaw is CTL Logistics, which it bought in 2008.

Groupe Poult, an investment of LBO France, acquired Dr Gerard just three years ago. At the time it operated under the name Lider SKG before rebranding in 2011.

LBO France bought Groupe Poult in 2006 and put the French biscuit maker on the block in 2010, at the same time it was pursuing Dr Gerard, but failed to find a buyer.

The firm hired Rothschild earlier this year as it looks for an exit once again.

PineBridge-backed Work Service buys Antal's Polish unit

The private equity firm holds a 20.02 per cent stake in Work Service.

 

Work Service, an outsourcing group backed by PineBridge Investments, has acquired the Polish operations of Antal International, a recruitment consultancy.

Antal was founded 20 years ago by chief executive Tony Goodwin and will continue to trade under the same brand name. It will also continue to have access to Antal’s global network, according to a statement from the group.

PineBridge made an equity investment of €26m in Work Service in January this year, giving the investor a 20.02 per cent stake in the business.

Mid Europa backs Diagnostyka bolt-on

Mid Europa Partners portfolio company Diagnostyka has acquired pathology examinations provider Olympus Consilio.

Laboratory test company Diagnostyka will increase its presence within the speciality exams market with the deal. Based in Lodz, Poland, Consilio performed 140,000 histopathology tests and 100,000 cyptopathology tests last year. The business will now be known as Diagnostyka Consilio and continue to service hospitals and clinics around Poland.

Since Mid Europa acquired Diagonstyka in 2011 the company has completed almost 30 add-on deals. It now carries out more than 15 million tests per year.

The deal is the firm’s second in the medical space this week, having supported Alpha Medical’s acquisition of Euromedic's Czech laboratory business.

Poland's Getin expands its banking business in Belarus

Poland's Getin Holding has stepped up its banking presence in neighbouring Belarus, despite the virtually frozen relations between the governments of the two countries, with the acquisition of Belarusian Bank for Small Business (BBSB).

On October 18, Getin announced its acquisition of 95.5% of BBSB’s shares for $4.9m from a team of multilateral investors, among which were the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the World Bank's International Finance Corporation (IFC). Each of them controlled a 21.67% stake in the Belarusian lender.

Oleg Andreyev, managing director of investment banking at Minsk-based company EnterInvest, tells bne that following its 2008 acquisition of Sombelbank (now rebranded Idea Bank), Getin was looking to buy another bank in Belarus that had a regional network, a transparent structure of owners and at a reasonable price. “BBSB fulfils all these requirements. Moreover, this Belarusian lender has a wide client base among private entrepreneurs,” Andreyev says.

Getin’s move comes after it failed last year in its efforts to acquire Paritetbank, the smallest of the four state-owned Belarusian banks, due to a disagreement over the asset’s value. Getin, controlled by Polish businessman Leszek Czarniecki, owns financial firms across Central and Eastern Europe – in Poland, Romania, Russia, Belarus and Ukraine.

Rafal Juszczak, Getin’s president, said earlier this year when it emerged that Getin was in the running for BBSB the aim of any transaction would be to target the growing loan demand from Belarusian small and medium-sized enterprises (SME). “Idea Bank Belarus... was recognized as the best consumer bank in Belarus. The acquisition of the SME specialized unit will substantially strengthen the group's position in that market,” he explained.

New capital

The deal will also enable BBSB to meet the National Bank of the Republic of Belarus' more stringent requirements regarding the minimum level of regulatory capital needed by a bank operating on the local market. BBSB is required to boost its regulatory capital by about €18m by the beginning of 2015.

The EBRD currently controls a 25% stake in another Belarusian bank, RRB-Bank, which also has to boost its capital. Francis Delaey, head of the Belarusian office of EBRD, told bne in June that the multinational lender actively worked with the shareholders of BBSB and RRB-Bank to ensure "a long-term sustainable solution" that takes into account the regulatory requirements and operating environment of Belarus.

That Belarusian regulator has given the green light to the acquisition of BBSB by Getin could be a sign the Belarusian government is ready to normalise relations with Poland, which have been virtually frozen since the disputed presidential elections in Belarus in December 2010.

After the election, President Alexander Lukashenko accused Germany and Poland of aiding in the preparation of a coup d’etat in Belarus. "We have evidence that the special services of Poland and Germany were involved," he said in March 2011, commenting on the post-election mayhem that saw clashes between riot police and opposition activists after the result gave Lukashenko almost 80% of the vote.

This spat quickly snowballed into a full-scale diplomatic break between Belarus and the EU, which had a knock-on effect on investors, such as Poland’s Kulczyk Holding refusing to build a coal-fired power plant in Belarus for approximately €1.5bn. “Such big projects need to be carried out with banks. Given the current climate surrounding Belarus it would be hard to finance such a project,” Jan Kulczyk, the Polish billionaire, explained at the time.

Vue Entertainment Group to acquire Multikino

Vue Entertainment, the ITI Group and AREA Property Partners announce today that Vue Entertainment is to acquire Multikino S.A. (“Multikino”), a leading Polish multiplex operator.

Multikino opened the first multiplex cinema in Poland in Poznan in 1998 and is today the second largest multiplex cinema operator in Poland. Multikino operates a circuit of 28 cinemas with 231 screens across 22 Polish cities and 2 cinemas with 15 screens in the Baltics. The entire Multikino circuit was fully digitalised in 2011.

The transaction will complete once the approval of the Polish Office for Competition and Consumer Protection is obtained.

Vue Entertainment is a world-class operator of modern state-of-the-art multiplex cinemas, with 116 cinemas and 1,075 screens across the UK, Ireland, Germany, Denmark, Portugal and Taiwan.

Wojciech Kostrzewa, President and CEO of the ITI Group states “Since its inception back in 1998 Multikino has been promoting the highest standards in cinema operations and management, establishing itself as the most innovative network in Poland. We are proud to announce the acquisition of Multikino by Vue Entertainment who we know will continue to support and develop Multikino’s high standards.”

Tim Richards, CEO of Vue Entertainment comments, “The acquisition of Multikino is another exciting and strategic addition to the Vue Entertainment Group and part of our continued expansion into continental Europe through the identification and acquisition of the highest quality assets in each market. Multikino is the most highly respected cinema exhibition company in Poland.   With its state of the art multiplex cinemas with 100% stadium seating and strong management team, Multikino perfectly complements our existing business in Europe. We look forward to welcoming Multikino to the Vue family later this year and we hope to continue to build on the solid foundations that ITI has laid.”

Milmex starts talks on acquiring MNI assets

Polish companies MNIO and Milmex Computer Systems have signed a letter of intent on cooperation, reports Rpkom.pl. Milmex receives the exclusive right to acquire selected telecommunications activities belonging to MNI, until 30 November. Analysts expect Milmex to acquire the former network infrastructure which belonged to the Hyperion group. MNI controls the regional cable operator Hyperion, working in Southern Poland.