Abris Capital to Acquire Masterlease Polska

After more than a year of negotiations and financial hurdles, CEE private equity firm Abris Capital Partners has reached a deal to acquire Masterlease Polska from U.S.-based GMAC. As part of the financing package Abris was able to secure €129.3 million in corporate bonds just recently made available on the Warsaw Stock Exchange under its new Catalyst program. The company was acquired by GMAC in 2001 and made part of their global financing group while the original management team continued to operate the business.

Masterlease Polska
Founded in 1995 by Polish businessmen Grzegorz Waluszewski and Jerzy Kobyliński, Masterlease Polska is an auto leasing and fleet management company based in Gdańsk. The company caters to the vehicle leasing needs of both domestic and international clients with a fleet whose size has increased nearly ten-fold since 2001. Masterlease provided just under 24,000 vehicles to its clients in 2009, representing about 17.88% of the total market in the region. The company operates 17 sales offices, in addition to company headquarters, and employs more than 150 industry specialists.

Abris Capital
As one of the leading private equity firms in Poland, Abris Capital Partners seeks out opportunities in Central and Eastern Europe for growth capital investments and mid-market buyouts. The firm prefers companies with an enterprise value between €15 million and €45 million. Sectors of interest vary for the firm but it considers alternative energy, construction, financial services, manufacturing, media, and telecom among its areas of expertise.

Abris is backed by a variety of institutional investors, pension plans, insurance companies, and endowments. The firm is based in Warsaw with additional offices in Kiev and Bucharest.