AB kupuje czołowego dystrybutora zabawek Rekman

Branża wydaje mi nam się interesująca. Wybraliśmy najbardziej poukładaną i solidną firmę z podobnymi do naszych wartościami. Widzę w niej podobieństwo do ATC sprzed kilku lat. Rekman ma najszerszy asortyment w segmencie zabawek w Polsce" - powiedział Przybyło podczas spotkania z dziennikarzami.

Dodał, że spółka ma lojalną bazę klientów i ok. 30 mln zł przychodów w 2012 roku i wyraźnie wyższe marże niż dystrybucja IT.

"Spodziewamy się dynamicznego wzrostu Rekmana. Logistyka i finansowanie to bariery wzrostu dla Rekmana, które spółka pokona dzięki nam. W skali grupy spodziewamy się poprawy kapitału pracującego i pozytywnego wpływu akwizycji na marże" - zaznaczył prezes AB.

Dodał, że spodziewa się zwrotu z inwestycji w ciągu 2-3 lat i 2,5 raza większej skali obrotów Rekmana po tym okresie. Obecna wartość rynku zabawek to ok. 2,5 mld zł. Rynek jest bardzo rozdrobniony, a znaczący udział ma bezpośrednia dystrybucja producentów zabawek.

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.