{{{?: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
Category Archives: News
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
Hermitage says Estonian banks involved in Magnitsky affair
{{{?:0}}} By Andrei Skvarsky. Hermitage Capital said, citing an Estonian prosecutor, that a $10m chunk of the $230m that Hermitage lawyer Sergei Magnitsky accused Russian officials of stealing from the state passed through Estonian banks in being transferred from Russia. Ten Estonian firms were involved in the alleged transfers, prosecutor Piret Paukstys said, according to… Continue Reading
VTB Capital appoints Head of Investment Grade Credit Trading in Asia
{{{?:0}}} VTB Capital has appointed Bryan Ko as Head of Investment Grade Credit Trading in Asia. Prior to joining VTB Bryan worked at Citibank’s Hong Kong operations, and before that held various positions at Morgan Stanley in Hong Kong and London. Mr Ko will be based in Hong Kong and will report to Ugo Calcagnini, Global Head… Continue Reading
KKR appoints Jorge Fergie to head Brazil efforts
{{{?:0}}} Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. appointed Jorge Fergie as firm’s Managing Director to head its São Paulo, Braziloffice and business development in Brazil, effective March 1, 2013. In this role, Jorge will work with KKR’s global investment teams and KKR Capstone, operational improvement experts who work exclusively with our portfolio companies, to lead KKR’s investment activity in Brazil. Prior… 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
VTB Capital appoints Marco Huber as Head of CEEMEA DCM
{{{?:0}}} Earlier this month Russian VTB Capital appointed Marco Huber as Head of DCM in CEEMEA Region (Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa). Huber has over 10 years’ experience having participated in the implementation of a number of large DCM deals across EEMEA reagion. He was previously Director, EEMEA DCM at Credit Suisse… 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
EXCLUSIVE: BrokerCreditService makes two high-tier hires
{{{?:0}}} By Andrei Skvarsky. Russian brokerage BrokerCreditService (BCS) has made two senior hires for its London office, bringing in John Barker from global electronic broker Liquidnet as non-executive director and Audrey Faveeuw from the London Stock Exchange as director of international prime brokerage sales. Barker oversaw Liquidnet’s pan-European business during his 11 years at Liquidnet,… Continue Reading
Is Qatar on your entrepreneurial watch list?
{{{?:0}}} Entrepreneurs looking for potential investment opportunities ought to place Qatar high on their watch lists during the next year or two or else they could be missing out big time. Huge billion-dollar infrastructure projects, not to mention the 2022 FIFA World Cup competition, mean major companies from around the world eagerly eyeing the oil-rich… Continue Reading
Abraaj hires EMPEA chief for top brass role
{{{?:0}}} The Abraaj Group, a Dubai-based private equity and venture capital firm, has handed a top managerial role to Sarah Alexander, head and co-founder of the Emerging Markets Private Equity Association (EMPEA), an independent global business promotion body. In her new job, which she takes up next month, Alexander will look after the North American… 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
Russian Deputy Finance Minister Savatyugin steps down
{{{?:0}}} Russian Deputy Finance Minister Alexei Savatyugin, who oversees the financial markets, banking and the insurance sector, is resigning with effect from January 9. The 42-year-old official, whose departure from the ministry had been rumoured since summer 2012, is one of nine deputy finance ministers. He has held the job since 2010, when then finance… Continue Reading
“Provocative” mobile texts say Belarus ruble in for new devaluation
{{{?:0}}} By Andrei Skvarsky. About a thousand mobile phone users in Belarus have received anonymous texts that claimed the national currency would again be devalued heavily on January 8 after being slashed by 36% in 2011, the country’s intelligence agency said, dismissing the messages as a “provocative” hoax. The dollar will be worth 14,340 and… Continue Reading
SunGard declared one of world’s top risk technology vendors
{{{?:0}}} SunGard is ranked third on a 2012 list of 100 top global risk technology providers compiled by Chartis Research, a risk technology market analysis company. While ranking third overall in Chartis’s RiskTech100 annual report, SunGard is declared by the London- and New York-based firm’s paper to have been last year’s number-one in terms of… 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
JP Morgan Private Bank expands Russian focused team
JP Morgan Private Bank has hired Darius Daubaras and Anatoly Crachilov as executive directors to its Russian team and to be based in London. Daubaras joins from BNP Paribas and has previously held roles at Citi Group, Credit Suisse and Merrill Lynch. Crachilov joins from HSBC Private Bank having previously worked at Russian Troika Dialog 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
RenCap puts Alexander Merzlenko in charge of Russia business
Renaissance Capital has appointed Alexander Merzlenko as its president for Russia, adding his new role to his current jobs as head of Russian investment banking and deputy chief executive of the Moscow-headquartered investment bank. Merzlenko’s promotion is the next high-level personnel move at the emerging markets-focused firm after its takeover by billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov’s Onexim… 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
UFG Private Equity appoints Arthur Akopyan as Partner
Arthur Akopyan joins UFG Private Equity from NGI venture capital fund. He brings 15 years of operational and corporate finance experience in telecoms, media and IT services. Prior to UFG Private Equity, from 2008 he performed restructuring work for several Russian financial holdings with a main focus on telecommunications and IT. During this time Arthur… 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
Otkritie announces changes to its Board of Directors
Otkritie Financial Corporation today announces the election of new members to its Board of Directors. Vadim Belyaev has been appointed Chairman of the Board and Boris Mints, who previously held the position, will remain the President of Otkritie Financial Corporation. Ruben Aganbegyan, CEO of Otkritie Financial Corporation, and Johannes Boerner, Deputy CEO, will form the… 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
BAML hires RenCap ex-boss to run Russian business
Bank of America Merrill Lynch has hired Alexander Pertsovsky, a former chief executive of Renaissance Capital, to head its Russian operation. Pertsovsky, who takes up the reins at BAML in February, will also join the American bank’s executive committee for Europe and the emerging markets, excluding Asia, according to Reuters. BAML, which has not yet… Continue Reading