iEurope earns 13.5x return from auction site exit

Budapest-headquartered iEurope Capital has made 13.5 times its original investment of undisclosed size in Vatera.hu, a Hungarian online auction site and marketplace.

The firm sold Vatera to MIH Internet Europe, a subsidiary of South African media conglomerate Naspers. Financial details were not disclosed, though iEurope said in a statement the sale represented a 59 percent gross internal rate of return.

iEurope invested in Vatera in 2002 and the company has since experienced “terrific” organic growth, firm co-founder and partner Kristina Perkin Davison told PEO.

The private equity firm, which also has a New York office, invests capital on behalf of family offices and high net worth individuals in Central and Eastern European companies. It targets sectors including technology, media, consumer products, wellness and energy.

The Vatera investment was made from iEurope’s first fund, which closed on just under $10 million in 2001 and has generated a 23.5 percent realised net IRR. The firm is preparing to raise its second fund. Perkin Davison declined to discuss fundraising.

iEurope is led by Perkin Davison, Laszlo Czirjak and Charles Huebner. Perkin Davison previously founded New Europe Capital Partners, a Central European advisory firm focused on greenfield projects; Czirjak was previously a managing director at Bankers Trust Company/BT Alex; and Huebner in 1990 established and led the US government-backed $70 million Hungarian American Enterprise Fund.