HP TRONIC, the Czech Republic’s biggest trader of consumer electronics has reached an agreement to buy 100 percent stake in Czech small applicances company, ETA from Benson Oak Capital. ETA (www.eta.cz) ETA a.s., founded in 1943 by entrepreneur John Prošvic, is a leading manufacturer of small domestic appliances, and enjoys a brand recognition of over [...]

ARX Equity Partners, the CEE private equity firm based in Prague, has announced the acquisition of a minority stake in Czech chemical producer Bochemie. ARX Equity now joins previous investor Benson Oak Capital in providing funding for Bochemie’s expansion and acquisition plans in southeastern Europe. Benson Oak first invested in Bochemie in 2007, and together [...]

Poland’s PGE power group wants to sell the Exatel telecom by the end of the year, and they just may have a buyer in GTS Central Europe. GTS has the resources to pull off a deal, and has already expressed an interest in either Exatel or PKP’s Telekomunikacja Kolejowa. Exatel’s 2009 EBITDA earnings were PLN [...]

Despite persistent rumors of a possible IPO from AVG Technologies, CEO and President J.R. Smith continues to insist that no such plans are in the works. His latest rebuttal comes after a recent report by the Reuters news service that shareholders were considering an IPO that could be potentially worth €300 million to €800 million. [...]

Benson Oak Capital recently announced a deal to exit Plastkov through the sale of its automotive holdings to Megatech. The sale, whose price is not known, includes three portfolio companies in the automotive injection molding business: Plastkov MR a.s., Plastkov Automotive s.r.o., and BTV Plast s.r.o. Benson Oak originally acquired the Plastkov holdings in 2007 [...]

Late last week Polish investment firm Enterprise Investors raised the possibility that AVG, the Czech security software firm in which EI is the largest shareholder, could be listed on the Warsaw bourse next year. Citing AVG’s importance to the CEE region, EI’s Dariusz Pronczuk indicated the firm’s desire to have the company listed on a [...]

In one of the largest private equity deal for CEE this year, Boston’s TA Associates has acquired a 25% stake in AVG Technologies, the Czech computer security software developer. The USD 200 million acquisition was made through the purchase of proportional shares from all current shareholders. Enterprise Investors retained 34% stake and has now surpassed [...]

Grapo Technologies of Olomouc, Czech Republic has been purchased by Benson Oak Capital (BOC) who intends to invest CZK 100 million in the company. Benson Oak is based in Prague, investing primarily in Central and Eastern Europe. The acquisition, whose financial details have not been disclosed, is part of Benson’s overall strategy of finding and [...]

Benson Oak Capital, a Czech-based investment house, announced it had acquired a 100% stake in BTV Plast. Benson Oak plans to restructure and recapitalize BTV Plast, which has suffered heavily from an unknown level of debt. BTV Plast will be merged with Plastov MR AS, a Liberec-based company, and Plastkov Automotive AS, a Hlinsko firm. [...]