{"id":10022,"date":"2018-09-17T18:04:23","date_gmt":"2018-09-17T16:04:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.blog.sztateszt.7digits.net\/?post_type=blog&p=10022"},"modified":"2018-09-17T18:04:23","modified_gmt":"2018-09-17T16:04:23","slug":"cee-success-stories-on-the-way","status":"publish","type":"blog","link":"https:\/\/szta.hu\/en\/blog\/cee-success-stories-on-the-way\/","title":{"rendered":"CEE – Success stories on the way"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Invest Europe is a non-profit association representing European private equity, venture capital and their global investors. The association is publishing a comprehensive report on private equity and venture capital investment flows each year. Its research is the most robust and authoritative in the industry. Statistics referring to 2017 were published at end of August this year.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Private equity and venture capital investment into companies in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) reached a record \u20ac3.5 billion in 2017. CEE\u2019s consumer goods and services sector attracted the majority of investment capital with three-quarters of the total, while technology (ICT) followed with 11%.<\/p>\n

Polish companies were the big draw, receiving 71% of the total amount, followed by those in Romania, Hungary and Latvia respectively.<\/p>\n

\u201cRecord levels of private equity and venture capital investment into companies across Central and Eastern Europe are helping to create regional and global success stories,\u201d<\/em> said Robert Manz, Chair of Invest Europe\u2019s Central and Eastern Europe Task Force and Managing Partner at CEE private equity firm Enterprise Investors. \u201cInternational investors are drawn to the region\u2019s attractive economic growth, strong consumer spending and private equity fund managers with proven ability to identify high-growth investment opportunities\u201d<\/em>, he added.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Examples of the region\u2019s recent private equity-backed business successes include Avast Software, the Czech cyber security company which earlier this year listed on the London Stock Exchange in London\u2019s biggest ever tech IPO. Polish grocery store chain Dino Polska grew rapidly to nearly 630 stores before its IPO last year on the Warsaw Stock Exchange. In March, Romania\u2019s robotic process automation vendor UiPath was valued at over US$1 billion, more than ten-fold the company\u2019s valuation when it last raised funding in April of last year.<\/p>\n

Romania was the EU\u2019s fastest growing economy last year with an estimated GDP growth rate of 6.4%, according to the European Commission. Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary economies are also growing at a faster rate than major Western European countries. Of the 12 EU members forecast to grow GDP by 3% or more in 2018, nine are Central and Eastern European countries.<\/p>\n

Private equity fundraising in the market increased 46% year-on-year to reach \u20ac1.3 billion in 2017, including a record \u20ac360 million for venture capital fundraising. European investors from outside Central and Eastern Europe provided 38% of the total capital raised, while global sources of capital outside of Europe contributed 26%, driven by US-based investors. Funds-of-funds were the leading source of capital at 31% of the total, followed by government agencies at 26%.<\/p>\n

Company exits in CEE reached a total value of \u20ac1.3 billion, measured at historical investment cost, a year-on-year increase of 16% and the region\u2019s third highest annual divestment level. Secondary buyouts were the most utilised exit route with 38% of the total value, followed by trade sales at 29%.<\/p>\n