Money Buzz! Europa

Category: Investment

  • Hungarian MOL Group acquires 417 petrol stations in Poland

    Hungarian MOL Group acquires 417 petrol stations in Poland

    The Hungarian MOL group acquires 417 petrol stations from PKN Orlen and Lotos Group in Poland.

    As a result of this USD 610 million transaction, MOL could become the third largest player on the Polish fuel distribution market.

    In order for the transaction to be approved, MOL must sell 185 fuel stations in Hungary and Slovakia to PKN Orlen for USD 259 million.

    The transferred assets will include 144 fuel stations in Hungary and 41 stations in Slovakia.

    Hungarian petrol company operate 2,390 fuel stations in Europe under five different brands.

  • Polish online retailer Allegro to take over Mall Group from Czechia

    Polish online retailer Allegro to take over Mall Group from Czechia

    Allegro, Poland’s largest online trading platform, announced that it had reached an agreement to take over online retailer Mall Group from Czechia.

    The value of the transaction is around 881 million euros as Reuters reports.

    Allegro would take over the Mall Group’s e-commerce assets and the courier company WeDo from Rockaway Capital, PPF Group and EC Investments.

    The final price of the transaction could be increased by up to 50 million euros, depending on the Mall Group meeting certain short-term objectives.

    https://moneybuzz.ro/pentru-romani-schimbarile-climatice-au-impact-asupra-vietii-lor-zilnice/

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    Merging Allegro and Mall Group will give rise to a company that will operate in Czechia, Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia and Poland.

    Buyers will have acces to an improved offer, prices and proximity, and over 135.000 merchants will be able to list their products on a single platform.

    Allegro has become the largest company on the Warsaw Stock Exchange, but will have a bigger competition after Amazon launched its Poland local website this year.

    Amazon’s entry in Poland is likely to change and stimulate the growth of the local e-commerce market, which is expected to reach USD 25 billion in 2024.

  • A&M Capital Europe acquired the European pet care platform Pet Network

    A&M Capital Europe acquired the European pet care platform Pet Network

    Pet Network, the leading omni-channel pet care platform in South-Eastern Europe, is present through multiple brands in Romania, Croatia, Slovenia, Serbia and Bulgaria.

    The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2021.

    Pet Network was created in 2018, after TRG bought and merged three pet supplies businesses present across South-Eastern Europe.

    The oldest of these businesses is Pet Centar, which opened its first store in Croatia in 1999 and has expanded since then in Serbia and Romania.

    The other two businesses acquired by TRG in 2018 are Animax, operating in Romania, founded by Cristian Ludovic Pop, and Mr. Pet, active in Slovenia.

    Over the past year, Pet Network also expanded to Bulgaria and now operates more than 150 physical stores across five countries, as well as various e-commerce channels.

  • Romanian platform Global Database targets EUR 1.4 million on SeedBlink

    Romanian platform Global Database targets EUR 1.4 million on SeedBlink

    Global Database, an aggregator of private and public company information, aims to obtain a funding of 1.4 million euros on the crowdfunding platform SeedBlink.

    SeedBlink campaign started today, August 26, the round being supported by two private investors with experience in IT.

    Funds will be used to develop the solution, invest in marketing and hire sales specialists for the US and the UK.

    The company is to sell a package of up to 10% of the shares, being valued at €17 million.

    Information about over 120 million companies, structured and aggregated from 195 countries

    Global Database gathers information from over 120 million companies worldwide, providing structured and up-to-date data.

    The platform includes contact details about companies, financial reports, who are the final beneficiaries, credit risk information, daily alerts.

    Most of the information is gathered from official sources, combined with public sources and partnerships with strategic data providers to provide an overview of companies globally.

    The platform offers public information to over 350.000 users/month and has over 100 active corporate clients.

    Global Database was created in 2015 by Nicolae Buldumac, a specialist with ten years of experience in sales&marketing in Great Britain and Vitalie Aremescu, a specialist with 13 years of experience in IT in the Republic of Moldova.

    The company has clients including American Express, Dupont, Vodafone, British Council, WWF, Salesforce, SAP, Edendred, 3M, Embassy of Canada, Embassy of Spain, Getty Images.

    For this year, the company estimates revenues of $ 1.2 million compared to $ 0.7 million last year.

    By 2020, Global Database has grown organically from year to year, with no foreign investment. The project was funded exclusively by the founders.

  • Apple remains the world’s largest company by market capitalisation

    Apple remains the world’s largest company by market capitalisation

    The market capitalisation of the 100 largest listed companies in the world increased by over USD 10 trillion (48%) between April 2020 and March 2021.

    By 31 March 2021, a new record high of USD 31.7 trillion had been reached, according to PwC.

    All sectors represented in the Top 100 list saw substantial increases, ranging from 25% to 75%, in market capitalisation during the year to March 2021.

    Technology continues to be the largest sector in terms of market capitalisation (USD 10.5 trillion). Global Top 100 Technology companies saw a 71% increase from their March 2020 value.

    Industrials and Basic Materials also outperformed other sectors, with increases of 75% and 68%, respectively.

    The worst-performing sectors in the Global Top 100 were Health Care, with 25%, and Energy and Utilities, at 26%.

    United States continues to dominate the Global Top 100. Its 59 companies on the list recorded the highest regional increase in market capitalisation of 57%, compared with China’s 42% and Europe’s 18%.

    Five European companies dropped out of the Global Top 100 in the year to March 2021, including three in the UK and two in France. That was partially offset by two new entrants to the list from Germany – Siemens and Volkswagen.

    The 73 companies on the list from the US and China account for 77% of the total market capitalisation of all Global Top 100 companies.

    Apple is the world’s largest company by market capitalisation

    Apple regained its crown as the world’s largest company by market capitalisation with a March 2021 valuation of 6% and 13% ahead of Saudi Aramco (2nd) and Microsoft (3rd), respectively.

    Apple’s market capitalisation reached an all-time high of USD 2.4 trillion in January 2021.

    Although Amazon’s market capitalisation increased by 61% in the year to March 2021, the company remained in fourth place.

    The top 10 is completed by Alphabet (Google), Facebook, Tencent, Tesla, Alibaba and Berkshire Hathaway.

    China Mobile was the only company in the Global Top 100 that saw a decrease in market capitalisation.

    Tesla recorded the highest increase, of 565%. Food delivery platform Meituan saw the second largest increase in market capitalisation in relative terms (221%).

    Volkswagen returned to the Global Top 100 with a USD 165 billion market capitalisation as at March 2021, with a 165% increase in the year to March 2021, driven by strong investor support and consumer demand for its transition to electric vehicles.

    Given the ongoing regulatory challenges and suppressed demand across the aviation industry due to the pandemic, Boeing made a surprise return to the list with a 77% increase in market capitalisation.

  • Undeterred by COVID-19, dealmaking in the CEE region remained steady

    Undeterred by COVID-19, dealmaking in the CEE region remained steady

    The disruption caused by COVID-19 to CEE’s M&A market was short-lived as dealmaking returned to the fore in the second half of the year, according to Mazars.

    Deal value in the CEE region rose by 11% to €49.2bn, compared to 2019, even as volume dropped by 16% to a total of 648 transactions.

    When not including Russia, the region’s largest economy, recorded deal value figures in 2020 saw a 28% year-on-year increase.

    International buyers continue to be attracted to the region, accounting for 49% of total deal value – investing €23.9bn – in line with previous years.

    Fabrice Demarigny, global head of financial advisory at Mazars, highlights how ”on a global level, the CEE picture is one of stability. The region continues to attract a strong and steady flow of inbound investment from around the world.”

    Private equity remained extremely active in 2020, with total disclosed buyouts in the region seeing a 40% year-on-year rise to €3.9bn.

    Private equity exits also fared well, with total disclosed value coming to €8.1bn, an 11% rise in 2019.

    Four countries continue to dominate the market

    The top four countries in deal value terms remained the same as in 2019 – Russia, Poland, the Czech Republic, and Austria.

    The region’s biggest market, Russia, accounted for four of the year’s ten largest transactions.

    Meanwhile, the biggest deal of the year took place in Austria, the most affluent of the CEE markets.

    This deal saw Austrian oil company OMV increase its stake in petrochemicals company Borealis from 36% to 75% for €5.712bn.

    The tech sector flourishes amidst the pandemic

    The highest number of inbound deals to the CEE region were technology-based, hitting a total of 57 deals worth €2.5bn – a year-on-year rise of 12% by volume, and 34% by value.

    In terms of inbound deal value, energy and utilities remained in the top spot, accounting for €9.1bn – a 20% rise year on year.

  • Endava announces the acquisition of American company Levvel LLC

    Endava announces the acquisition of American company Levvel LLC

    Endava announced the acquisition of Levvel LLC, an award-winning U.S. technology strategy, consulting and engineering firm.

    Levvel is focused on helping companies create great technology through human-centered problem-solving, rooted in deep industry expertise.

    Levvel has a strong focus in the Payments and Financial Services, Logistics/Mobility and TMT segments and combining forces will accelerate Endava’s expansion in the United States.

    Levvel won Inc. Magazine’s national ”Best Workplaces” award in multiple years as well as being named to Inc. Magazines’s annual Inc 5000 list of the fastest-growing companies in the U.S. annually since 2018.

    Levvel delivers from the U.S. and Mexico and has 172 operational employees.

  • UiPath submitted the documentation for an IPO on the New York Stock Exchange

    UiPath submitted the documentation for an IPO on the New York Stock Exchange

    UiPath, the first Romanian unicorn, submitted on Friday the documentation for an initial public offering (IPO) on the New York Stock Exchange.

    Under the ”PATH” symbol, the company aims to get a billion dollars, although the value of the amount will probably change, MarketWatch and Reuters reported.

    A group of 22 banks, led by Morgan Stanley and JP Morgan, subscribe to the transaction.

    The earnings from NYSE listing will be used for corporate purposes, which could include acquisitions, the New York-based company said.

    UiPath reported a loss of $ 92.40 million in 2020, lower than the previous year’s loss of $ 519.90 million.

    Revenue rose to $ 607.60 million from $ 336.2 million.

  • 3DLOOK announces $6.5 million Series A round

    3DLOOK announces $6.5 million Series A round

    3DLOOK announced that it has raised $6.5 million in Series A funding, led by Almaz Capital with participation from TMT Investments and Zubr Capital.

    The investment brings the company’s total fundraising to date to $11.2 million. 

    The new funds will be used to expand 3DLOOK’s US leadership team and establish new R&D labs in the US and Western Europe.

    3DLOOK’s mobile camera–based solutions provide personalized fit and size recommendations for online shoppers and body data intelligence that brands can use to create better-fitting clothes.

    The technology uses a patented combination of computer vision and 3D statistical modeling to instantly measure the human body using just two photos.

    Brands that use 3DLOOK’s solutions have seen 30% decreases in return rates, while increasing conversions 4 times year over year.

    Tailored Brands and 1822 Denim are among the global fashion retailers that are using 3DLOOK’s solutions to drive down apparel returns and increase conversion.

  • PNE Group sold Hultema wind farm project in Sweden

    PNE Group sold Hultema wind farm project in Sweden

    Swedish wind farm Hultema with a planned nominal capacity of around 60 MW, which was developed by the PNE Group, has been sold to the Swiss infrastructure fund Reichmuth Infrastruktur II KmGK.

    Hultema wind farm is located in the southern part of Sweden and when completed will comprise of Siemens-Gamesa 6.0-155 wind turbines.

    The wind farm was developed by the Swedish WKN subsidiary VKS Vindkraft Sverige AB, which belongs to the PNE Group.

    Construction started in February 2021 and this will be managed by the PNE Group as a service provider on behalf of the buyer. Commissioning is planned for mid-2023.

  • EasyPark to buy Park Now app from Daimler and BMW

    EasyPark to buy Park Now app from Daimler and BMW

    Daimler and BMW announced on Tuesday that they want to sell their joint Park Now application to Swedish rival EasyPark, Reuters reports.

    The application allows customers to search and pay for parking spaces.

    Park Now is part of the joint venture established in 2019 and has five axes, including smartphone route management, parking reservation and a charging service for electric vehicles.

    The financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.

  • CTP to launch an initial offering and list on Euronext Amsterdam

    CTP to launch an initial offering and list on Euronext Amsterdam

    CTP B.V. announces its intention to launch an initial offering and to apply for admission to listing and trading of its shares on Euronext Amsterdam, a regulated market of Euronext Amsterdam N.V.

    CTP is a top five European logistics property company and CEE’s largest logistics property owner-developer based on gross lettable area (GLA).

    Following a strategic shift in the groups’ funding strategy, CTP entered the international bond markets in 2020.

    The company successfully issued its debut green bond of € 650 million in October 2020, followed by two additional green bonds at attractive terms taking the total issuances to more than € 1.5 billion to date.

    The reason for the contemplated offer is to enable CTP to accelerate its growth strategy by financing the group’s development projects and construction activities, selective property acquisitions and debt repayment.

    The offer will be made to institutional investors and is expected to comprise a primary offering of newly issued shares raising approximately between € 800 million and € 1 billion of gross proceeds and an over-allotment option of secondary shares.

    The offer is expected to take place in the coming weeks, subject to market conditions and other relevant considerations.