By Andrei Skvarsky. Wermuth Asset Management, a German firm with most of its business interests in Russia, has reported a second transaction by its sustainable energy-focused Green Gateway Fund, with the previous deal announced just three days ago. {{{*}}} Green Gateway Fund, whose legal name is Europe-Tatarstan Cleantech Fund, led a group of investors that put… Continue Reading
Category Archives: Deals
EBRD to have permanent office in Jordan
By Andrei Skvarsky. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development is to have a permanent office in Amman under a recent agreement with the Jordanian government. {{{*}}} The EBRD said in a statement that it had appointed Heike Harmgart, one of its senior economists, as head of the office. The EBRD, which began investing in… Continue Reading
Russia’s Aton hires ex-UBS banker to run new brokerage arm
Russia’s Aton investment group has hired Alexei Sizov, a former UBS, JP Morgan and Renaissance Capital banker, as head of institutional business at its new brokerage Aton Capital. {{{*}}} Sizov will oversee the equity, fixed income, treasury, direct market access and research units and the brokerage’s office in London, the Moscow-based group said in a… Continue Reading
EBRD, Ukraine come up with anti-corruption plan
By Andrei Skvarsky. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the Ukrainian government have agreed a short-term plan to set up a public-private working group and the office of business ombudsman in Ukraine to address the country’s vast-scale corruption. {{{*}}} Later on, the EBRD and Ukraine will be developing a comprehensive initiative to fight… Continue Reading
Wermuth reports deal, two senior appointments
By Andrei Skvarsky. The Green Gateway Fund, a 110m-euro investment fund run by Germany’s Wermuth Asset Management, has acquired a minority stake in The Mobility House (TMH), a Germany-based provider of charging equipment for electric vehicles. {{{*}}} Wermuth’s statement that reported the deal did not disclose the size of the stake. Wermuth, a firm with… Continue Reading
Moscow Exchange IPO kicks off with $500m worth of stock floated
The Moscow Exchange is launching its initial public offering today, putting 15bn rubles’ (497.5m dollars’) worth of stock on sale on its own platform and having set the per-share price at 55 rubles ($1.83). {{{*}}} A statement from the exchange values the bourse at 126.9bn rubles ($4.2bn). VTB Capital, as stabilising manager of the IPO,… Continue Reading
RenCap hosting one-to-one pan-Africa investor conference
Moscow’s Renaissance Capital, seeing Africa as “a golden opportuunity for investors”, is hosting a three-day annual one-to-one pan-Africa investor conference in Lagos which opened on February 11. {{{*}}} “Against the current backdrop of global market instability, Africa remains a source of tremendous growth and opportunity”, RenCap said in a statement. The current fourth Pan-Africa Investor… Continue Reading
VTB Capital sells bond worth $169.5m in Turkey
VTB Capital has sold a two-year bond in Turkey to a total of 300m Turkish lira ($169.5m). {{{*}}} Garanti Bank, one of Turkey’s biggest private lenders, organised the placement of the bond on the Istanbul Stock Exchange. The bond, sold to qualified investors, had a semi-annual coupon of 3.89%, the investment arm of Russia’s VTB… Continue Reading
Ukraine’s stock market down 35% in 2012 – East Capital
Ukraine’s stock market was the world’s second worst performer after that of Cyprus last year, slumping by 35%, but can get a boost from a potential new loan from the International Monetary Fund, according to Stockholm-based asset manager East Capital. {{{*}}} Ukraine’s economy, where the main stock market players are mining, energy, engineering and financial… Continue Reading
Moscow Exchange gives CIS banks free access to currency market
By Andrei Skvarsky. The Moscow Exchange has given unrestricted access to its currency market to banks domiciled in Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. {{{*}}} Banks in the four countries, which, together with Russia, are building a so-called Eurasian Economic Community, no longer need a Russian currency trade licence for access to the Moscow bourse’s currency… Continue Reading
IFC supports fuel distribution infrastructure in Ukraine
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is helping provide an $85 million financing package to build a network of gas filling stations in eastern Ukraine, bolstering the infrastructure for petrochemicals distribution and expanding access to high-quality fuel services across the country. IFC will provide $30 million in debt financing to support the network,… Continue Reading
Europe Virgin Fund invests in pharmaceutical company Sperco Ukraine
Europe Virgin Fund L.P. (‘EVF’), a private equity fund sponsored by Dragon Capital, has completed formation of a 50/50 joint venture {{{*}}} with Ucrafarma S.A., a Spanish pharmaceutical company. The partners have united their forces in Lux PHARMA Participations SA, a Luxembourg-based holding company, with Ucrafarma transferring various pharmaceutical assets including its 95% stake in… Continue Reading
Moscow Exchange announces indicative IPO price range, dividend levels
{{{?}}} The Moscow Exchange has announced an indicative per-share price range of between 55 and 63 rubles ($1.8 and $2) for its planned initial public offering. Credit Suisse, J.P. Morgan, Sberbank CIB and VTB Capital are joint global coordinators and joint bookrunners for the IPO, to be carried out on the bourse’s own platform. Deutsche… Continue Reading
Otkritie hires man from Moscow Exchange top brass as DMA chief
{{{?}}} Moscow’s Otkritie brokerage has hired Sergey Sinkevich from the Moscow Exchange as head of direct market access (DMA). Before his new job at the brokerage’s Otkritie Capital division, Sinkevich headed the primary market department at the Moscow Exchange. Previously he spent nearly a decade at the Russian office of GE Money, a banking arm… Continue Reading
EBRD loans to HEINEKEN brewery in Belarus
{{{?:0}}} European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is providing EUR 5 million in funding for the Belarus operations of the HEINEKEN group – one of the Europe’s largest beer producer. The loan will be used mainly to support the company’s efforts to promote the production of high-quality barley by local farmers and make a… Continue Reading
Runa Capital leads $4.7M series A round for Israeli mobile solutions company Cellrox
{{{?:0}}} Cellrox, an Israeli start-up in the mobile services domain, has bagged a USD 4.7 mln round of funding during its Series A round. Led by Runa Capital, the company’s existing investors are also participating in the round. They include Columbia Technology Ventures and Previz Venture Partners, among others. The funding will be used to… Continue Reading
Micex-RTS to sell part of its stock via IPO
{{{?:0}}} Moscow’s Micex-RTS stock exchange is planning to put some of its own stock on sale through an initial public offering on its Micex trading platform, with Credit Suisse, J.P. Morgan, Sberbank CIB and VTB Capital acting as joint global coordinators. The four banks will also be bookrunners for the IPO, a role in which they… Continue Reading
Swiss PE firm to invest €100 mln in Russian e-commerce
{{{?:0}}} Pluribus Optimum, a Swiss PE firm, has earmarked EUR 100 mln for investments in Russia and CIS countries over the next three years. The funds will target e-commerce platforms to improve certain operational aspects such as order processing, document handling, billing and payment acceptance. They will also be targeting the third-party logistics market, popularly… Continue Reading
East Capital exits ELKO computer wholesaler as sales go up
{{{?:0}}} East Capital, a private equity and venture capital firm with 3.8bn euros under management, has sold out of after helping the Riga-headquartered computer wholesaler to stabilise and boost its business. East Capital has made a profit of 36% on its 8.8% interest in ELKO since it acquired the stake in 2005, according to a… Continue Reading
Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) will invest $40 million to support SMEs in Russia's provinces
{{{?:0}}} The Board of Directors of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), the U.S. Government’s development finance institution, approved up to $40 million in financing for a private equity investment fund that will support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Russia’s outer provinces, where private equity has been largely unavailable. Fast-growing SMEs with strong market… Continue Reading
Czech company invests in Russian online ticketing service
{{{?:0}}} Popular Russian online ticketing service Travelata.ru has received a financial boost from Czech investment company Invia. The latter is backed by Polish VC fund MCI Management, and is already a leader in the online travel bookings market in the CEE region. Though Travelata competes globally with giants like Expedia, Orbitz and Priceline, the Russian… Continue Reading
Runa Capital Co-Founder Announces $100 Mln Quantum Technology Fund
{{{?:0}}} A new venture fund dedicated to supporting companies that use quantum technology and materials, called the Quantum Wave Fund (QWave), will be launched shortly with around USD 100 mln under management. The investors include Russians Sergei Beloussov, Sergei Kouzmine and other prominent investors and scientists. The fund will target companies working with data networks,… Continue Reading
Sberbank makes 26m-euro unsecured loan to engineering firm
Sberbank, Russia’s biggest lender, has extended a seven-year unsecured loan of 26m euros to HMS Group, a Moscow-based manufacturer of pumps, compressors and oil and gas equipment. The fixed-rate loan, which comes with a three-year grace period, has been structured by Sberbank-CIB, a division that was part of Troika Dialog before the Moscow brokerage was… Continue Reading
EBRD lends to Ukraine’s Coal Energy
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development is lending up to $US 70 million to Ukrainian mining group Coal Energy SA, which will use the loan proceeds to improve the efficiency and safety of its production capacities, located in eastern Ukraine, as part of an overall modernisation programme. Continue Reading
Almaz Capital Partners invests in Russian Square clone 2can
Russian Square copycat 2can has secured $400,000 in funding from a new investor, Almaz Capital Partners. Mobile card acquiring service 2can was officially launched in Russia in September 2012, but founded a year earlier, in November 2011. It offers customers the chance to transform their smartphones running iOS or Android into mobile POS terminals with… Continue Reading
Sberbank takes majority stake in Yandex.Money
Russia’s Sberbank is to spend $60 million for a majority stake in Yandex.Money, the online payment business of Russian search engine Yandex. The companies are to form a joint venture through the acquisition by Sberbank of a 75% (minus one share) interest in Yandex.Money, with Yandex retaining a blocking interest in the JV with 25%.… Continue Reading
East Capital Buys Lithuanian Mall Gedimino 9
East Capital, Swedish-based asset management firm, has purchased a Lithuanian shopping mall in Vilnius from Ektornet, a subsidiary of the Swedbank Group. The mall, called Gedimino 9, will benefit from the funding by getting improvements to its commercial aspects as well as a re-shaping and brand positioning in the near future. The deal was completed through… Continue Reading
EBRD nearly doubles syndicated loan raised for Russian Rosbank
A syndicated loan raised by the EBRD for Rosbank, a Russian private bank controlled by France’s Societe Generale group, has been heavily oversubscribed and the total loan amount nearly doubled to USD 290 million due to strong interest from commercial banks. A total of 11 international banks are participating in the USD 230 million syndication… Continue Reading
Marguerite Fund expands its wind farm portfolio with the acquisition of a stake in an 80 MW project in Romania
The Marguerite Fund announced today that it has acquired a 50% stake in the Chirnogeni (80MW) wind farm in Romania, from Cyprus-based developer EP Global Energy, which will remain a 20% shareholder. The project, which is about to start construction, comprises 32 Nordex N90/2500 2.5MW wind turbines for a total installed capacity of 80MW. It… Continue Reading