SGAM Alternative Investment has closed its fourth eastern Europe fund at €156 million ($211 million).
Parent Société Générale and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development were the cornerstone investors, while a range of institutional and private investors also committed to the fund.
Bill Watson, chief investment officer for Eastern Europe Private Equity at SGAM, said: “Our mid-market focus makes us a different type of investor to other firms in the region such as BC Partners and Warburg Pincus, which have far larger funds. Our aim is the expansion business, so we can sell our companies on to the BC Partners of the world.”
The fund will target minority investments and buyouts of mid-sized companies in both central and eastern Europe. It will operate pan-regionally, with capability to invest from the Baltics to the Balkans. SGAM’s team of six partners operates from offices in Warsaw and Bucharest and the bank’s headquarters in Paris.
Private equity in central and eastern Europe is becoming increasingly well-established, as regional specialists continue to push back the boundaries. Advent International recently opened an office in the Czech Republic and is planning to open in Ukraine later this year, while other rivals are expected to follow suit.
Recent deals in the area include yesterday’s $43.8 million investment by global private equity firm Warburg Pincus in Ukraine consumer lending group IMB, which was part of a $100 million funding round.
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