“Best Private Equity Firm in CIS” prizewinner Horizon Capital acquired 20% stake in the Danish-Ukrainian IT outsourcing company, Ciklum. The financial details of the transaction remained undisclosed. Ciklum (www.ciklum.com) Ciklum was founded by a Danish businessman, Torben Majgaard, who first entered the IT sector some 20 years ago as a computer hardware retailer in the CIS.  The company [...]

Java hosting platform Jelastic, based in the Ukraine, has raised a USD 2 mln fund from Almaz Capital and Foresight Ventures. The investment comes at a time when Java hosting is a tedious process involving a long list of compliance requirements. Jelastic’s team launched the beta version last October with the help of an initial [...]

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is making its foray into the wind power market in Ukraine with a joint EUR 13.3 mln financing of Eco-Optima, a Ukraine-Italy joint venture undertaking. The two loans comprising the financing of the wind farm in Western Ukraine, in the Staryy Sambir region, are a 10-year EUR 9.5 [...]

Ukrainian venture capital firm TA Venture has co-invested in Tailored, a US-based personalized online bridal wear shopping platform. Other investors in the startup include Jose Martin and Fabrice Grinda.   TA Venture (www.taventure.com) TA Venture is an early-stage web technology focused venture capital firm that focuses on startups in Ukraine, Russia, CIS countries, Europe and [...]

Icon Private Equity has surrendered its share in Ukrainian agriculture company Agrika to Sintal Agriculture in exchange for a 6 percent equity in Sintal.

Ukrainian construction materials company Kerameya Ltd. has been sanctioned a USD 10 mln loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). Existing investors – Emerging Europe Growth Fund, Western NIS Enterprise Fund and the Entrepreneurial Development Bank of the Netherlands (FMO) – jointly own the company along with its core management team. The [...]

Ukrainian meat processing company Globino Group will receive a USD 25 million loan from EBRD to increase its production capacity, encourage exports, construct a biogas complex, and restructure their finances. EBRD is the largest investor in the Ukraine. Currently over USD 9 billion has been invested into this area through 276 different projects. This is [...]

EBRD has acquired a minority stake in Khask Group, a Ukrainian packaging manufacturer. The USD 6 million investment will enhance the company’s ability to bring in additional modern equipment and foster expansion. The investment will also be used to help the group maintain its position as the leading producer of adhesive tape in the CIS [...]

Yandex, through the Yandex.Factory initiative has invested into Refine.io. Refine.io is a mobile application creation service which is based in California, with software development in the Ukraine. Yandex is the largest search engine company in Russia, which recently completed a USD 1.4 billion IPO on the NASDAQ. The investment Yandex made into Refine.io is thought [...]

Yandex, the leading Russian search engine, through its Yandex.Factory program, has opted to invest in Zenmoney.ru, an online personal accounting site. Yandex has begun investing seed money into Internet and Mobile start-ups beginning in 2011. Investments range around a hundred to several hundred thousand per company. Zenmoney will be required to use Yandex.API for further [...]

Rusnano, the Russian nanotechnology investment firm, has agreed to provide USD 15 million of the USD 22 million investment round in SiTime Corporation. Money from the investment round will be used to establish a new facility in Russia which will focus on designing a new generation of MEMS oscillators. SiTime is also funded by New [...]

Pixonic, a Russian social game publisher, has raised USD 5 million in a round of funding with a valuation of USD 10 million. Investors include Ukrainian based TA Ventures, Kite Ventures and Ventech. Ventech has stated that they invested USD 2.5 million of the USD 5 million. Pixonic (www.pixonic.ru) Founded in 2009, Moscow based Pixonic [...]

Travelmenu.ru has raised $1.6 million U.S. dollars to expand their company through investments from Almaz Capital Russia I Fund and Runa Capital. This is the first time the company has received any outside funding. Travelmenu.ru (www.travelmenu.ru) Travelmenu.ru was first launched in 2005. The company began as a b2b site, acting as a travel agency, and [...]

Horizon Capital has added to its financial sector portfolio after acquiring a significant share of Ukrainian collection agency UkrFinance. Horizon acquired UkrFinance through an investment from its Europe Growth Fund II. The fund’s extensive portfolio includes other financial sector companies including such well-known names as Fidem Life Insurance(Ukraine), MTBank (Belarus), Platinum Bank, Universalna Insurance, and [...]

Ukraine has sold off another significant asset with the recent announce of a signed deal between the Ukrainian Capital Fund and Epic Financial Consulting Gesellschaft. The Austrian private equity firm will purchase 92.79% of Ukrtelecom from the Ukrainian capital fund for just over € 911 million. The deal is the most significant among Ukrainian state-owned [...]

Global private equity firm Advent International has chosen Kiev-based ISIDA as the target of its first Ukrainian investment, acquiring a controlling stake in the company just two months after reaching a GBP 925 million deal for the UK’s Priory Group. The acquisition is a continuation of Advent’s 26-year history of healthcare investing. ISIDA will now [...]

Ukraine’s United Media Holding (UMH) gains another piece of the Russian sports website market with the acquisition of the Sports.ru web portal. UMH struck a deal with Sports.ru founders for a price estimated to be between USD 1.5 million and USD 2.5 million. The acquisition gives UMH a stronger position in a market whose audience [...]

Ukraine’s United Media Holding has added another property to its core radio business with the acquisition of Nashe Radio and the NRJ radio station. Joining United Media Holding is an unidentified co-investor who is also a partner in Retro FM. The acquisition is in keeping with United Media’s strategy of taking advantage of a growing [...]

The Ukrainian government’s plan to sell its 92.79% share of Ukrtelecomseems to have hit a competitive snag with the announcement from the State Property Fund that only one bidder has come forward. Epic Services Ukraine, a subsidiary of Austria’s Epic investment fund, has apparently placed the sole bid in a tender offer guaranteeing a minimum bid price [...]

One of Ukraine’s leading wine makers received a financial boost early this year after Horizon Capital and Hartwell Capital joined forces to acquire a stake in the company. Inkerman, which controls thousands of hectares of Crimean vineyards will benefit from Horizon’s investment experience in the industry joining a portfolio which also includes Vitmark and Bostavan Wineries Group. Meanwhile, [...]