Horizon Capital, a U.S. private equity firm investing in high-growth export-oriented companies in Ukraine and the region, has announced the formation of a new Horizon Capital Growth Fund IV, L.P. (HCGF IV), which attracted $125 million in the first stage.
“With the launch of HCGF IV, Horizon Capital achieved an all-time high first stage result, raising 50% of its $250 million goal,” the company said in a statement Monday.
According to him, at the first stage, the Fund was supported by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a subsidiary of KfW Group – Deutsche Investitions-und Entwicklungsgesellschaft (DEG), the Dutch Development Bank (FMO), the Swiss Investment Fund for Developing markets (SIFEM), the Western NIS Enterprise Fund, and the Zero Gap Fund (formed in collaboration between The Rockefeller Foundation and the John D. and Catherine T MacArthur Foundation).
The fund will support visionary entrepreneurs leading high-growth technology and export-oriented companies.
The official signing ceremony took place on Monday at the London office of IFC. It was attended by leading representatives of investing institutions, as well as the founder and CEO of Horizon Capital Olena Koszarna and senior partner Vasily Tofan. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also joined the fund’s investors for the official signing ceremony with Ukraine via video link.
“We are honored to make history by launching the first fund for Ukraine and Moldova since February 24, and the first fund to support these countries since they received their well-deserved and hard-won EU candidate status in June of this year,” – quoted in a press release by Kosharna.
Earlier, the EBRD and IFC announced that they had approved an investment in HCGF IV of $50 million and $30 million, respectively.
In addition, the Western NIS Enterprise Fund (WNISEF) allocated $10 million as part of the first phase of the fund’s formation.
IFC specified that the fund would invest $10-30 million to acquire minority stakes in 10-15 mid-cap companies worth $50-150 million.
HCGF IV is the successor to the Emerging Europe Growth Fund III (EEGF III, 2017) and will follow a similar investment strategy focused on IT services and products, as well as e-commerce, innovative consumer products and fintech, according to corporate filings.
IFC recalls that it invested in EEGF III and EEGF II (2008), while the EBRD was an investor in EEGF III and EEGF II, as well as HCGF II.
Horizon Capital is a large investment company that manages five private equity funds (more than 40 institutional investors) with assets of $1.1 billion, including WNISEF (with a capital of $150 million), Emerging Europe Growth Fund (EEGF, $132 million), EEGF II ( $370 million) and EEGF III ($200 million) and HCGF II ($258.3 million). The resources of these funds are invested in projects in Ukraine and Moldova.
