DrKC to groom Eastern Europe’s buyout talent

Dresdner Kleinwort Capital (DrKC), the private equity firm, has launched an MBO/MBI networking group in Poland. The group, which already has around 20 members aims to meet four times a year to discuss the key issues effecting buyout transactions.

The group comprises CEOs and senior managers from Polish businesses, who are prime targets for investors, advisers and headhunters looking for MBO/MBI opportunities, said DrKC.

Janusz Heath, DrKC’s managing director of private equity in Central Europe, said MBOs and MBIs are a established way of selling and buying companies in Europe and will soon be seen in Central Europe too. “Whilst the club is limited to Poland at the moment, we will be launching similar networks in Hungary and the Czech Republic next year,” he said.

DrKC operates a $225m Emerging Europe fund in Central Europe. The fund recently closed having secured backing from Dresdner Bank, CalPERS, GIMV and Donator.

The fund, which invests between $3 and $25m in ventures, focuses on the telecommunications, media, IT/Technology, healthcare services, branded consumer products, distribution, retailing and specialist engineering sectors.