from left: Michał Zawisza – Partner Avallon MBO FUND, Tomasz Stamirowski – Managing Partner Avallon MBO FUND

20.12.2013r.

Avallon, a Łódź based company which manages private equity funds, gained new investors at the very end of the year and finally increased the amount of its fund – Avallon MBO II up to the amount of EUR 109 M. All the money shall be spent for joint transactions with managers which mainly aim at buying out shares sold by their current owners or investments in private companies managed by their founders. Avallon has had long-time experience in such areas with almost 100 transactions with managers since 2001 and being a leader on the management buyout market.

The new fund totals to EUR 109 M which makes a significant increase compared to the first closing in the beginning of the year at ca. EUR 60 M. Investors include international financial institutions, e.g.: the European Bank for Construction and Development, the European Investment Fund, funds managed by a Swiss company Akina Partners. Within the current increase, the Fund was also joined by a Polish Fund – Growth Funds initiated by Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego. Avallon has also invested into the fund its own money of plus EUR 4 M.

The fund shall mainly invest in companies with turnovers from 50 to 250 M zlotys. The investments shall cover various businesses, including: FMCG and manufacturing companies. An average investment is between 30 and 40 million zlotys, though due to co-investment agreements signed with fund’s investors and partners, the fund may carry out much more valuable transactions. The key indicator for each investment is the quality of the managerial staff and their concept to increase the company value. Avallon is closely watching leading companies in various branches.

The new Fund has already made two transactions this year. The first one was VELVET Care, the company well-known on the personal hygiene market from the VELVET brand, which was bought from the American corporation Kimberly Clark. Another one – Marketplanet, a leader on the Polish market in corporate purchases (IT consultancy and solutions) was purchased from Telekomunikacja Polska S.A. Both transactions were carried out together with managers.

The fund is run by a team of Polish experts with multi-year experience who enjoy full influence upon investment decisions made. In 2013, Avallon was distinguished as the Best Fund in Poland among funds with capitals up to 200 M euros.

Tomasz Stamirowski, Avallon Managing Partner

Avallon is a unique investor which for many years has built its position on the basis of its values, such as: partner relations with managers, involvement, professionalism. We managed to achieve the assumed Fund value which shall allow further strong development of the managing company, as well as supporting numerous interesting transactions initiated by managers.

Michał Zawisza, Partner Avallon

We are happy with the trust from investors who have commended further resources to our management. We are planning to expand the investment team. Our satisfaction is even greater as we are one of but a few companies in the financial business which are seated and enjoy full decision-making in Łódź. And in the area of manager buyout, we are the leader on the Polish market.

Robert Więcławski, Partner Avallon

Our long-term experience allows to run difficult and complex transactions. We intend to actively support foreign expansion of companies from our portfolio, as we did it when our portfolio company MEDORT S.A. bought the German Meyra Company, one of the icons on the European rehabilitation market. Such actions are appreciated both by managers in the companies we invest in and our partners who have entrusted capital in our new fund.

Previous fund: Avallon MBO FUND I – investments

Avallon MBO FUND I capitalised at EUR 50 M, allocated its money to: Orthopaedic Company MEDORT S.A. in Łódź (2007) – a leader on the rehabilitation and orthopaedics market, FITEN S.A. (2008) which deals with wholesale of electricity and investments in renewable energy sources (biomass), GOOD FOOD S.A. (2009) – a leading manufacturer and distributor of rice wafers, ORGANIC FARMA ZDROWIA S.A. (2010) – a leader on the ecological and organic food market, AG FOODS in the Czech Republic (2011) – a leader of the soluble drinks market in the Czech Republic, Poland and Hungary, EKO VIMAR Orlański Sp. z o.o. (2011) – a manufacturer of modern, ecological pellet boilers, LIMITO S.A. (2011) a fish and seafood processing and distribution company, and CEKO Sp. z o.o. (2012) – a manufacturer of high quality cheeses.