3TS Capital to launch EUR 25 million fund for SMEs

Private equity and venture capital firm 3TS Capital Partners will next month launch a EUR 25 million fund called 3TS Catalyst Romania to target Romanian small and medium enterprises active in the IT&C and media sectors.

The fund has been set up with the support of the Jeremie initiative of the European Commission, which allows financing for SMEs through structural funds.

“The first closing will be made at approximately EUR 25 million, expanding to EUR 30-35 million at the second closing, and we will target Romanian SMEs in the technology, media and telecom sectors. We are especially interested in software and online,” Mihai Sfintescu, partner at 3TS Capital Partners, told BR.

Sfintescu added that the fund has a EUR 100 million exposure in Romania, with investments in IT&C and services. 3TS has invested in Avangate, an e-commerce solutions provider, to support its global expansion. It also invested in Romprest, a Romanian facilities and waste management company, and in the online publisher Internet Corp.

The Euro zone crisis, which has hit peripheral countries the most, has indirectly affected the fund’s operations in Romania.

“The crisis has reduced purchasing power in Romania and made bank financing more expensive so the portfolio was affected. I think every company was more or less affected,” said Sfintescu. “Overall, we have continued to develop and the portfolio is looking good. A better macroeconomic situation would have helped us perform even better.”

3TS is active in Central and Eastern Europe and is currently the advisor of three funds amounting to EUR 230 million. Sfintescu was speaker at a conference organized last week by the South Eastern Europe Private Equity Association (SEEPEA).