For this year, the World Bank forecasts growth gradually slowing, driven by a slowdown in Central and Eastern Europe’s economies. Even Poland is expected to slow from 5% in 2018 to 4% in 2019, as Eurozone growth slows.
What impact would it have on private equity in the CEE region? Does the forecast fulfil?
Even this topic will be covered by our panel discussion on "Accelerated Growth" at 0100 Conferences Prague this October. The specificity of the panel lies in the regional diversity of our speakers (Poland and Ukraine so far). In Poland, despite labor shortages, growth accelerated slightly because of strong consumption and investment, while in Ukraine, policy uncertainty undermines confidence in the region and impact growth.
Who confirmed the role of a speaker at the panel so far?
Przemyslaw Glebocki, Co-Managing Partner @ Mezzanine Management
Przemek Glebocki has more that seventeen years of experience in private equity and corporate finance in Central Europe. He is a Co-Managing Partner and Chief Investment Officer at Mezzanine Management. Prior to joining Mezzanine Management, Przemek was withErnst & Young ‘s Corporate Finance and Audit departments. He holds a Master Degree in Finance and Banking from the Warsaw School of Economics and has pursued study programs in the U.S. and the Netherlands. He currently seats on boards of Dominium, Spearhead, PrimoCollect, Flucar, PEM, Nettle, ATM and Netrisk. Przemek is a Chairman of the LBO Committee at the Polish Private Equity and Venture Capital Association.
Mezzanine Management is a pioneering, independent investment advisory firm, with a focus on Central Europe. Funds they advise provide tailored financing solutions to established mid-market businesses and small and medium enterprises. Mezzanine Management helped to create and now advises four successful mezzanine funds: Accession Mezzanine Capital I, II, III & IV. The funds invested in more than 50 companies across the region and their total size exceeds EUR 800 million.
Bill Watson, Managing Partner @ Value4Capital
William R. Watson, is the Managing Partner of Value4Capital, a Poland and Central European focused private equity firm. Bill began investing in central Europe in 1992 with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. He continued with Baring Private Equity Partners from 1997 and Société Générale Asset Management from 2005. In October 2011 he and his partners spun-out with the fund raised under the SGAM brand to become Value4Capital. They recently completed fundraising for their €91m V4C Poland Plus Fund, which they are currently investing. A Canadian and French citizen, he has been a board member at portfolio companies across central Europe and played an active role in the industry as a member of Invest Europe’s Mid-Market Platform Council from 2012 to 2018 and a member and then Chairman of its Professional Standards Committee.
Value4Capital is a private equity firm focused on investments in mid-market Central European companies. They target buy-out investments in established companies in Poland and the other EU member states of Central Europe and build market leaders through consolidation and growth. Main focus are service businesses.
Dmytro Boroday, Principal @ Horizon Capital
Dmytro Boroday joined Horizon Capital in March 2016 bringing significant management consulting and industry experience to the firm. Dmytro started with Horizon Capital in 2010 as an analyst, leaving in 2012 to pursue an MBA at Harvard Business School. He re-joined the firm after first gaining extensive consulting experience at McKinsey & Company in Dubai, where he worked on strategy, cost-cutting and corporate finance projects. Dmytro received an MBA from Harvard Business School (USA), and holds degrees in International Economics from Kyiv State University (Ukraine), where he graduated top of class.
Horizon Capital is the leading private equity firm in Ukraine backed by over 40 institutional investors, managing four funds with assets under management of over $850 million and a tenure of 25 years in the region. Their deal partners have 75+ years of investment experience in the region, formerly at blue-chip institutions including McKinsey/Merrill Lynch/Deutsche Bank and with MBAs from leading institutions.
Elbruz Yilmaz, Investment Director @ 3TS Capital Partners
Previously Elbruz worked in various roles in venture backed software tech companies active across the US, Europe and Middle East. He also launched Turkey’s first seed fund at Inovent in 2008 and was one of the founders of Galata Business Angels (GBA) most active angel investor network in Turkey. Elbruz has a degree in Economics from Ege University and an MBA from Pittsburg State University in the US. He was born and raised in Turkey, lived in Germany, US and finally settled in Vienna with his family.
3TS Capital Partners is one of the leading European technology focused private equity and venture capital firms. 3TS provides expansion capital and buyout funding for small and medium-sized businesses in growth sectors including Technology & Internet, Media & Communications and Technology-Enabled Services. Investors in the current and past 3TS funds totaling over €300 million include EIF, EBRD, Cisco, OTP, Sitra, 3i and KfW among others.
