From January 2007
UKRAINE: AMC PERMITS SIGMABLEYZER FUNDS TO BUY
KOSMO CONSUMER GOODS RETAIL CHAIN OF 51 STORES
Interfax Ukraine Economic, Kyiv, Ukraine, Wed, October 24, 2007
KYIV - The Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine (AMC) has permitted SBF
Southeast European Holdings B.V. (Amsterdam), part of SigmaBleyzer group,
to buy over 50% of Kyiv-based Sumatra-Ltd., which owns the Kosmo retail
chain, which sells cosmetics, perfumes and pharmaceutical products, the
committee's press service told Interfax-Ukraine on Tuesday.
The press service said that the chain has stores in Kyiv, Zhytomyr, Kyiv,
Mykolaiv, Poltava, Khmelnytsky and Cherkasy regions.
Sumatra-Ltd. was founded in December 1997. As of August 2007, the Kosmo
retail chain comprised 51 stores in seven regions of Ukraine.
Sumatra-Ltd. said that it plans to invest $40 million in the development of
the Kosmo chain and Kosmo Farma drugstore chain in 2008-2009, opening
another 200 stores in all regions of Ukraine.
The company said that its sales in 2006 grew by 50% year-on-year, and in
January through June 2007 they grew by 65% year-on-year.
In February 2007, SigmaBleyzer, a leading private equity firm focused on
Ukraine and Southeastern Europe, closed its fourth fund, SigmaBleyzer
Southeast European Fund IV (SBF IV).
The fund was closed at EUR 250 million ($326 million), the maximum amount
allowed by the partnership agreement, and 25% above its target, making it
the largest private equity fund in Ukraine and one of the largest funds in
Southeastern Europe.
SBF IV included a significant number of limited partners (LPs) from the
company's previous funds, as well as new investors. A total of 40 LPs
invested in the new fund, with investments ranging from a few million euros
to 20% of the fund, which was provided by the largest LP in SBF IV, the
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
Other investors in the fund include Goldman Sachs, UBS, LVMH, Bank
Austria, InvestKredit and other large financial institutions and family
funds.
SBF IV will make investments of EUR 10-70 million, with larger investments
possible through a series of co-investment agreements with its LPs.
In 1996, SigmaBleyzer created the first Ukrainian Growth Fund (UGF). Since
that time, UGF has grown into a family of three funds consisting of UGF I,
UGF II, and UGF III. SigmaBleyzer has offices in Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine,
the Netherlands, and the United States.
