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19Oct2007
Advance Equity successfully raised BGN 26 m
The second capital increase of Advance Equity Holding AD was concluded successfully with BGN 25.9 m raised through offering of new shares on the Bulgarian Stock Exchange - Sofia. The first Bulgarian private equity investor, managed by the financial group Karoll, issued 23 967 308 new shares, each with a par value of BGN 1 and issue price of BGN 1.08. Thus, the registered capital of the company reached BGN 35 951 592. All of the rights issued were sold and just 1 260 shares were not paid in within the period of the subscription.
The newly raised BGN 25.9 will be used for financing of the existing investee companies of Advance Equity, as well as for investments in new ventures. “Nearly half of these funds are intended to cover the investment needs of our subsidiary companies. We have ambitious plans for these companies and will do all the necessary things to have the plans fulfilled”, said Mr.Ventzeslav Petrov, CEO of Advance Equity Holding. Currently, Advance Equity has equity stakes in six companies, most of which are start-ups. “Our investment approach is to back motivated and talented entrepreneurs in such businesses, which have the potential for a high growth in a medium term. This capital increase will also provide resources for investments in new promising projects”, added Petrov.
The final parameters of a new investment in a company from the telecommunications sector are expected to be specified soon. “We have a continuous inflow of investment proposals for financing of different businesses and we expect this inflow to grow up in the future. Our task is to select those, which have the necessary qualities to develop successfully”, explained Ventzeslav Petrov.
As of now Advance Equity has provided equity financing to Energy Invest EAD, which manages projects in the field of the renewable energy sources, Energy Effect EAD, which offers measures for improvement of the energy efficiency of buildings, Agro Terra North AD, operating in the agricultural sector, Enesy AD – distributor of compressed natural gas, Project Estate EOOD, which develops industrial, commercial, and business properties, as well as SEP Bulgaria AD, which is an integrator of a system for electronic payments via mobile phones.
Energy Invest has started the construction of a second own wind park in North-Eastern Bulgaria, where its first such installation is already in operation. Project Estate develops its pilot project for a big trade center in the city of Stara Zagora (Central Bulgaria), while SEP Bulgaria is in a process of licensing for an operator of a payment system, based on a payment instrument called “mobile payment”.
Advance Equity Holding AD is the first Bulgarian private equity firm, established in early 2006 with a share capital of BGN 2 m. In the middle of last year, the company went public via IPO on the BSE-Sofia and raised BGN 10 m. The company is an analogue of the popular in USA and Western Europe venture capital and private equity funds, which provide financing to start-ups and young companies with a potential for high growth and successful development on the basis of competitive business models. Investment consultant to Advance Equity is Karoll Finance.
