Deals of the year IT

Romania’s market for mergers & acquisitions (M&A) has remained at around EUR 1 billion in 2013, driven by deals in the banking and renewable sector, although big investors have held back and are carefully planning moves for next year, say deal makers.

By Ovidiu Posirca

NTT DATA buys EBS

Value of transaction: Not made public

Legal team, buyer: Schoenherr

Legal team, seller: Popovici Nitu & Asociatii

Japan’s NTT Data Corporation acquired the full share package in Cluj-based software company EBS Romania, which specializes in providing near-shore IT services for international customers, mainly in German-speaking countries.

NOD acquires Microlabs

Value of transaction: Not made public

Legal team, buyer: White & Case

Legal team, seller: Not made public

NOD, one of the three largest electronics wholesalers in the IT&C distribution market in Romania, acquired Microlabs, a local company active in the IT distribution market.

eMag takes over Conversion Marketing

Value of transaction: Not made public

Legal team, buyer: White & Case

Legal team, seller: Not made public

Online retailer eMag acquired 90 percent of the share capital of Conversion Marketing, an online performance marketing agency which offers media planning, media buying, analysis, creation and marketing strategy services. Conversion Marketing was founded and led by Marius Pahomi who retained the remaining stake and will continue as administrator and general manager.

Francisco Partners buys Avangate

Value of transaction: Not made public

Legal team, buyer: Shearman & Sterling, KMPG (financial)

Legal team, seller: Edwards Wildman Palmer

Gecad Group, controlled by Romanian entrepreneur Radu Georgescu, sold the full stake in international e-commerce solutions provider Avangate to California-based private equity firm Francisco Partners. With over 20 years’ experience in building global technology businesses, Georgescu is one of the most well-known Romanian serial entrepreneurs and angel investors. In 2003, he made an exit from his security software venture, RAV Antivirus, which he sold to Microsoft. This was followed by the acquisition of his second venture GECAD ePayment in 2010 by Naspers, a South African internet and multimedia company.

Intel buys Kno

Value of transaction: Not made public

Legal team, buyer: Not made public

Legal team, seller: Not made public

US-based Intel, the world’s biggest chip maker, acquired Kno, an educational software company with offices in the US, India and Romania. The software company’s local office is located in Cluj-Napoca, and it currently has 35 employees.

Accenture takes over evopro group businesses

Value of transaction: Not made public

Legal team, buyer: Not made public

Legal team, seller: Not made public

Accenture, the consultancy, acquired the industrial and embedded software development and services business of evopro group, a software development and engineering services company headquartered in Budapest. The group has operations in Germany, Hungary, Romania and Turkey.

ABC Data sells controlling stake in Scop Computers

Value of transaction: EUR 500,000

Legal team, buyer: Not applicable

Legal team, seller: Dentons

ABC Data, the largest distributor of IT&C products in Poland, sold its 51 percent stake in Scop Computers to Mokito Management Limited, a company controlled by Romanian businessperson Alexandru Visan, a former majority shareholder in the company. Scop Computers went into administration in 2012, following VAT fraud allegations. ABC Data paid EUR 4.4 million for the controlling stake in the Romanian company in 2010.

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