Romania’s biggest deals of 2016: Private Equity

Here are the main deals in the food and beverages sectors that were registered last year. For a forecast regarding the M&A market in 2017, you can read this exclusive article.

PRIVATE EQUITY

Empik Media & Fashion sells Smyk Group to Bridgepoint

Value of transaction: EUR 247 million

Legal team buyer: Weil, PwC (financial)

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Legal team seller: JP Morgan (M&A), Clifford Chance (legal), PwC (commercial), EY (financial and tax)

Description: The transaction required a number of specific carve-out actions prior to completion, including intergroup restructuring, repayment and refinancing. According to Mergermarket, the sale of Smyk was the largest private equity transaction in the first quarter of 2016 in CEE (excluding Russia).

3TS Catalyst and Gecad Group buy stakes in SmartBill

Value of transaction: EUR 1 million

Legal team buyer: RTPR Allen & Overy for 3TS Catalyst Romania

Legal team seller: DLA Piper Romania

Description: Private equity and venture capital fund 3TS Catalyst Romania took over a 25 percent stake in SmartBill, a local provider of invoicing software. Gecad Group, founded by Radu Georgescu, took over a 7 percent stake for EUR 229,771. The founders of the company will use the additional funds to support the development of the company, which has more than 33,000 users.

MedLife sells 44 percent stake in IPO on BVB

Value of transaction: EUR 50.8 million

Legal team: Schoenherr (MedLife), NNDKP (V4C Eastern Europe Holding V Limited), Leroy & Asociatii (International Finance Corporation), RTPR Allen & Overy (managers)

Description: Romanian private healthcare services provider MedLife was listed on the Bucharest Stock Exchange (BVB) after the company was able to sell a 44 percent stake to retail and institutional investors in an initial public offering (IPO). The offering marked the exit of private equity fund V4C from MedLife. The fund sold its 36.25 percent stake, while the IFC partially sold its 7.75 percent holding in MedLife.

Gebr. Heinemann SE & Co exits joint venture with VM Finance Group

Value of transaction: N/A

Legal team buyer: N/A

Legal team seller: Wolf Theiss Rechtsanwälte GmbH & Co KG SCA

Description: Gebr. Heinemann SE & Co withdrew from the Romanian joint venture SPV concluded with VM Finance Group AD, a Bulgarian private equity firm, in relation to its food & beverage distribution business in Romania.

Wirecard AG takes over Provus Group from Innova Capital

Value of transaction: EUR 32 million

Legal team buyer: N/A

Legal team seller: Clifford Chance Badea

Description: Innova Capital sold Provus, a leading Romanian payment processing and technological service provider, to Wirecard AG. Clifford Chance advised Innova Capital on the 2011 acquisition of Provus, which entailed the acquisition of Romcard and Supercard Solutions & Services, two Romanian subsidiaries. Provus operates Romania’s largest processing center and is among the leading providers of outsourcing solutions in Eastern Europe.

Oresa Ventures takes over La Fantana from Innova Capital

Value of transaction: N/A

Legal team buyer: Popovici Nitu Stoica & Asociatii (for Cristian Amza) and David & Baias (for Oresa Ventures)

Legal team seller: Clifford Chance Badea

Description: Innova Capital sold La Fantana, the leading provider of water coolers and coffee machines, back to its previous owners – private equity fund Oresa Ventures. La Fantana is a provider of spring water for offices in Romania and Serbia, and coffee machines in Romania.

Abris Capital Partners takes over Green Group

Value of transaction: N/A

Legal team buyer: N/A

Legal team seller: Clifford Chance Badea

Description: The private equity fund Abris Capital Partners bought the Romanian waste-management business Green Group, the fund’s fourth major investment in the country.

The acquisition expands Abris’s local portfolio, which also includes Urgent Cargus and PehartTec – the leading tissue paper producer in Romania and the largest independent business of its type in the CEE region.

Enterprise Investors sells Profi

Value of transaction: EUR 533 million

Legal team buyer: Bondoc & Asociatii

Legal team seller: RTPR Allen & Overy

Description: Enterprise Investors sold Profi supermarket chain to Mid Europa Partners, in the largest deal ever completed by a private equity fund in Romania and the largest deal in the retail sector in the country’s history. This was also one of the largest M&A transactions in Romania in 2016.

Global Finance sells Total Soft

Value of transaction: N/A

Legal team buyer: Eversheds Lina & Guia and Kolcuoglu Demirkan Kocakli

Legal team seller: RTPR Allen & Overy

Description: Global Finance, the South Eastern European Fund, sold Total Soft, the biggest ERP producer in Central Europe, to Turkish company Logo Yazilim, which is owned by the Mediterra Capital Partners private equity fund.

Catalyst Romania invests in SmartDreamers

Value of transaction: N/A

Legal team buyer: RTPR Allen & Overy

Legal team seller: Eversheds Lina & Guia

Description: Catalyst Romania, the private equity fund managed by 3TS Capital Partners, made investments in SmartDreamers, a well-known online recruitment platform.

Axxess Capital buys share package in Elefant Online

Value of transaction: EUR 5.5 million (according to media sources)

Legal team buyer: Tuca Zbarcea & Asociatii and sole practitioner Gabriela Assoum Predescu

Legal team seller: RTPR Allen & Overy

Description: RTPR Allen & Overy advised Elefant Online and its shareholders, Millennium Gold Resources and the Catalyst Romania private equity fund, on an investment in Elefant Online by the Emerging Europe Accession Fund, advised by Axxess Capital, and a supplementary investment from minority shareholder Catalyst Romania.

Enterprise Investors buys Noriel

Value of transaction: N/A

Legal team buyer: RTPR Allen & Overy

Legal team seller: Reff & Associates

Description: Enterprise Investors acquired the Noriel group, the largest toys and games retailer in Romania, from the Constantinescu family and Balkan Accession Fund, a private equity fund advised by Axxess Capital.

Catalysts Romania invests in Marketizator Friends

Value of transaction: N/A

Legal team buyer: RTPR Allen & Overy

Legal team seller: Ionescu & Sava

Description: RTPR Allen & Overy advised Catalyst Romania, the private equity fund advised by 3TS Capital Partners, in relation to an investment in Marketizator Friends (which provides online businesses with conversion rate optimization services, surveys, traffic segmentation and web personalisation).

Technology in Central and Eastern Europe to buy out Internet Corp

Value of transaction: N/A

Legal team buyer: RTPR Allen & Overy

Legal team seller: N/A

Description: Technology in Central and Eastern Europe, the private equity fund advised by 3TS Capital Partners, bought out two shareholders of Internet Corp (currently one of the biggest players on the online publishing market, which owns several well-known websites such as wall-street.ro, 9am.ro, start-up.ro).

Enterprise Investors sells Smartree Romania

Value of transaction: N/A

Legal team buyer: N/A

Legal team seller: RTPR Allen & Overy

Description: Enterprise Investors sold Smartree Romania, a notable player on the market of outsourcing payroll and personnel administration process services.