Siveco Romania raises $12 million from Enterprise Investors and Intel Capital
Bucharest, 21 July 2005 — Siveco Romania, a leading local software provider, announced a $12 million investment by Enterprise Investors (EI), the largest private equity firm in Central and Eastern Europe, and Intel Capital, Intel Corporation’s venture investment program. The transaction will combine a capital increase and buyout. Following the investment, Polish Enterprise Fund V (an investment fund managed by EI) will own 22.5% of the shares of Siveco Romania, and Intel Capital will have 10%.
This investment marks the first year of activity of both Intel and Enterprise Investors’ representative offices in Romania.
Siveco Romania provides cutting-edge software solutions for large and medium-sized companies as well as for public and local administrations. Founded in 1992, the company has become the leading software developer and solutions provider in Romania, with revenues reaching $30 million in 2004. According to the market research company International Data Corp., Siveco Romania leads in the Romanian Enterprise Application Suite (EAS) market, with 31% market share, and has 11% of the country’s IT services market. In 2001, Siveco Romania started the IT-based Educational System (SEI) – a complex e-learning program designed to support the Romanian education system. Labeled in 2001 by the European Commission as a best practice e-government solution, this program has also been nominated for the European IST (Information Society Technology) Awards in 2005. Over 1,800 clients from 30 countries use the integrated services provided by Siveco Romania’s 400 IT specialists. The company has successfully developed business partnerships with the largest software houses worldwide, including Microsoft and Oracle, as well as with such IT integrators as HP, IBM, and Bull.
Forty percent of projects developed by Siveco Romania are for government agencies, including the Romanian Ministry of Education and Research, Ministry of Communication and Information Technology, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Labor and Social Protection, National Health Insurance House and National Customs Authority. Among the firm’s other largest customers are private companies including Petrom, the Nuclear Plant of Cernavoda, Raiffeisen Bank, Citibank, and Aerostar Bacau.
Commenting on the transaction, Mrs. Irina Socol, general manager of Siveco Romania said: “We welcome the investment
by EI and Intel. The upcoming EU accession of Romania and the need to adapt to international market requirements make IT projects a priority for all Romanian organizations. This represents a great growth opportunity for Romanian IT companies
and is a time for strategic decisions regarding international growth. We embark on this path with great confidence that stems from our expertise and our product portfolio, and we are optimistic the funding will help us grow our business on local and international markets.”
“Siveco Romania is a fast-growing company that has gained a solid reputation in Romania and in Western European and American markets. Having Intel as a co-investor in this business, we are convinced that we will consolidate Siveco’s leading position as a local IT services provider and will further expand in foreign markets,” stated Dariusz Prończuk, an EI partner, who is responsible for this investment.
Marcin Hejka, investment manager at Intel Capital, said: “With the accession of Romania to the EU a huge market opens up that demands the latest IT solutions in order to increase productivity and compete within the EU and beyond. We see Siveco Romania as an important part of this development in providing software solutions to both public and private entities as well as fostering innovation in education. The importance of Siveco’s role has been recognized by the EC’s Information Society Technology Award.”
Enterprise Investors is the largest and oldest private equity firm in Central and Eastern Europe – since 1990 it has managed five investment funds with capital exceeding $1.1 billion. These funds have invested close to $900 million in almost 100 companies in Poland, Romania and other CEE countries, and have exited 75 investments to date at attractive rates of return.
EI has extensive experience with IT and software companies, having invested $43 million in 11 IT companies (including today’s transaction). As part of EI’s commitment to Romania, three Romanian companies have benefited from $50 million of equity: Orange Romania, Artima, and Siveco Romania. EI has the region’s largest and most experienced team of 30 investment professionals, including 11 partners, in its offices in Warsaw, Bucharest and New York.
For more information, visit www.ei.com.ro
Intel Capital, Intel’s venture investment program, focuses on growing the internet economy by making minority equity investments, in support of the company’s strategic interests. Intel Capital invests in hardware, software and services companies in several market segments, including computing, networking, and wireless communications. The company has invested more than $4 billion in approximately 1,000 businesses in over 30 countries since 1991. Since its inception, about 160 portfolio companies have been acquired by other firms and another 150 have gone public on various exchanges around the world.
Intel Capital employs investment managers in about 25 countries worldwide. Last year alone, Intel Capital invested more than $130 million in about 110 deals, with approximately 40% of its investments made outside the United States.
For more information, visit www.intel.com/capital