iEurope

Private equity for growth companies in Central and Eastern Europe

iEurope invests in privately held small and medium-sized enterprises across Central and Eastern Europe that need capital to grow and expand. Its site says it manages private equity funds for this purpose, and that it works from Budapest as a regional hub with a strong local presence across the region. Its stated aim is to bridge the CEE region and global markets while delivering top-quartile returns to the investors in its funds.

The kind of company it looks for

The firm targets innovative enterprises that have their own products and services, rather than businesses reselling other people's goods. Both sides of its work are named in its tagline: entrepreneurs who need capital, and the investors who provide it. The managers say they have invested in, managed and exited more than twenty companies. Among the portfolio businesses named on its older pages are ATech, Vatera and Kupi Me.

Where the founders' experience comes from

The firm has two co-founders and managing partners, and the older site describes their careers in some detail. One has worked in Hungary since 1992 after being born and educated in the United States, and earlier built a regional investment banking business covering six countries in Southern Central and Eastern Europe for a large international bank based in London during the 1990s. That work involved merger and restructuring assignments and debt and equity financings, and followed earlier roles in New York investment banking and operations. The same partner has served on the board of a large Hungarian oil and gas company, where he chaired the audit committee, and has led committees at the American Chamber of Commerce in Hungary on corporate governance, business integrity and entrepreneurship, including a position paper on good corporate governance in the country.

The other co-founder previously ran an advisory firm, set up in 1997, that helped American and Western European companies with acquisitions and greenfield projects in Central Europe. She also worked in emerging markets investment and in the Eastern Europe corporate finance group of the same international bank, on transactions in Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Russia. Both founders have sat on the boards of each of the funds' portfolio companies.

The sectors their experience spans include e-commerce, internet, financial services, technology, business services, media and telecoms.

iEurope is an investment firm that provides growth capital to privately held small and medium-sized companies in Central and Eastern Europe. It uses Budapest as its regional hub and aims to link businesses in the region with wider international markets.

What iEurope offers

• Growth and expansion capital: funding for private companies that want to scale.
• Fund management: the managers have a record of investing in, managing and exiting more than 20 companies.
• Board involvement: the co-founder has sat on the boards of the funds' portfolio companies.
• Regional presence: a local team working across Central and Eastern Europe.

Who it serves

The firm looks for enterprises with their own products and services that need capital to grow. It serves both entrepreneurs seeking funding and the investors who back its funds.

Key facts

• Based in: Budapest, Hungary (regional hub)
• Region: Central and Eastern Europe
• Leadership: Laszlo Robert Czirjak, co-founder and managing partner, who has worked in Hungary since 1992
• Track record: more than 20 portfolio companies invested in, managed and exited