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.
The Ukrainian real estate investment fund Focus Estate Fund has acquired the Turawa Park shopping center in Opole (Poland) from the international investment management group abrdn for an undisclosed amount, the fund’s general partner Maksym Shkolnik has said.
“This is our fourth asset in Poland, and we plan to continue scaling our portfolio in the Polish market, where we have been present for more than five years,” he said.
BNP Real Estate, which operates the shopping center, brokered the deal. B2R Law, CSWP, Dentons, CMS and Gleeds advised on this transaction.
Turawa Park is a multi-format shopping center with a total area of over 35,000 square meters, which has more than 60 stores. It includes a gallery with an area of 18,000 square meters, a retail park of 8,000 square meters, and the area of DIY stores – 9,000 square meters. The parking area is designed for 1,320 cars.
Turawa Park’s anchor tenants are such well-known brands as Carrefour, Reserved, Sinsay, Media Expert, Action, Smyk. Other tenants are Rossmann, Big Star, C&A, Pepco, Levis, Sephora, Deichmann.
According to the press service of the fund, at the time of the acquisition, the total vacancy rate was 29%.
“We see good prospects in the value-added retail segment in which we operate. Custom retail parks and neighborhood malls have proven to be some of the most resilient classes during the pandemic. As for the deal itself, it was rather complicated, and I would like to thank the abrdn team for their professional and balanced approach,” Shkolnik said.
The fund’s portfolio includes three more shopping centers in Poland in the cities of Sandomierz, Zgorzelec and Bartoszyce.
At the end of 2021, Focus Estate Fund sold two of its retail properties in the Czech Republic to the DRFG investment group: Centro Ostrava Retail Park and Most Retail Park.
Focus Estate Fund is a real estate investment fund focusing on non-premium medium-sized retail properties in Central and Eastern Europe.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky is initiating the creation of the National Investment Fund in order to create favorable conditions for the implementation of large-scale investment projects, the development of international economic cooperation and increase the competitiveness of the Ukrainian economy.
Corresponding decree No. 103/2021 on the National Investment Fund was posted on the website of the head of state on Friday, March 19.
According to the decree, the Cabinet of Ministers was instructed, in the prescribed manner, to take measures to create the National Investment Fund and standardize the issues of its activities, in particular, regarding the determination of the activities of the fund, its management bodies and their powers, the procedure for the formation of the charter capital, sources of formation of the fund’s resources, the use of profit, monitoring the activities of the fund, conducting an independent audit.
The decree comes into force on the day of its publication.
The National Securities and Stock Market Commission of Ukraine in the last days of 2020 registered the issue of shares of JSC closed-end non-diversified venture corporate investment fund CIG, the beneficiary of which is managing partner of Chernovetskyi Investment (CIG) Volodymyr Kryvko.
According to the public register, the charter capital of the fund is UAH 706 million.
The asset management company (AMC) for the new CIG fund is AMC Univer, on the website of which it is listed among the other 25 similar venture funds.
Chernovetskyi Investment Group, president of which is the son of former Kyiv Mayor Leonid Chernovetsky Stepan, is an investment company established in 2012, positioning itself as a venture investor in Eastern Europe and estimating its investment potential at $100 million.
The shareholders of HD-group (formerly the Khlibodar group of companies), Serhiy Chekalsky, Borys Shestopalov and Agroservice 2000, which is part of HD-group, have announced the creation of the Stock Capital (Fondovy Kapital) investment fund, whose assets will amount to $20 million, the group’s press service has said. According to its press release, the fund was created with the aim of consolidating the resources of HD-group, managing core acquisitions in 2020-2021, and implementing direct and portfolio investments in the agri-food segment (processing, production and food startup projects).
The group indicated that Stock Capital would be managed by AMC Slavutich Invest.
“Opening an investment fund is the next step on the way to the development of HD-group. We have implemented most of the project in the field of transformation, created a whole set of internal services that ensure the functioning of all business processes related to the fulfillment of the key mission of the enterprises included in HD-group: delivery of high-quality and safe products to customers. We believe that the holding is ready for not only organic market growth, but also inorganic through transactions to acquire new enterprises,” the press service said citing co-owner of HD-group Borys Shestopalov.
HD-group was founded in 1998 as Khlibodar in Zaporizhia. In 2019, it was transformed into HD-group. The group includes grain processing plants, bakeries and flour confectioneries, a plant for production of jam, preserves, groceries, procurement and logistics companies.
Lviv Tech Angels, an investment fund supporting startups, has 10 potential investors and could sign the first deal with a startup at the early stage by the end of 2019, President of Lviv Tech Angels Michael Puzrakov has said.
“At the moment there are ten members of this club, ten potential investors. Now we are in search of a manager who would take up organizational work. When we hire a manager we will select startups,” Puzrakov told Interfax-Ukraine on the sidelines of the Lviv IT Arena forum.
According to him, the first investment of the fund is possible before the end of this year, although the fund does not have a specific plan.
Angels’ money (investing in a startup at an early stage in exchange for a company share) in startups comes from IT, from other successful startups, that is, those who have brought their companies to a profitable level and have free funds. They can evaluate the quality and prospects of startups and help them,” Puzrakov said.
Lviv Tech Angels investment fund was launched in June this year as part of Lviv IT Cluster, the union of IT companies.
INVESTMENT DEALS, INVESTMENT FUND, LVIV TECH ANGELS, SUPPORTING STARTUPS
