Prague, 30th of September 2008 – Arca Capital CEE, uzavřený investiční fond, a. s. has acquired a license from the Czech National Bank. The group Arca Capital thus established the first qualified investor fund in the Czech Republic, the resources of which will be invested in private equity. Any qualified investor willing to invest at least CZK 5 million may become a shareholder of the fund.
Arca Capital CEE is the first qualified investor fund in the Czech Republic, the resources of which will mainly be invested in private equity in the region of Central and Eastern Europe. Some of the resources may also be invested in the real-estate in the same region. During the first stage, the fund will invest in certain existing projects of the group Arca Capital, e.g. Kasa.cz, Marila Balírny, Natura, and others. “With regard to risk diversification the fund management has decided to stipulate a maximum limit for investments in a single project in the amount of 35 % of the registered capital,” says Pavel Makovec, Member of the Board of Directors. The fund therefore cannot invest all its assets in one company or one real-estate project – it must allocate them to at least three different projects.
Arca Capital CEE is one of the few investments funds, which are intended for the wider range of the so-called qualified investors. The minimum investment amounts to CZK 5 million. Investments are realized through the purchase of shares from the fund’s promoter, i.e. the private equity group Arca Capital. An investor subsequently becomes a shareholder of the fund. Whereas other existing qualified investor funds usually delegate the portfolio management to various investment companies, Arca Capital CEE will act as an autonomous investment fund. Investors therefore do not have to pay any subscription / redemption fees. Moreover, those who enter the fund during this year will not have to pay any share premium, i.e. the subscription price of shares is set at the minimum value of the share.
The registered capital of the fund currently amounts to CZK 50 million, and the fund has been established for the period of 10 years, i.e. the maximum period permitted by the law. There will be several registered capital increases in the next 18 months, and new investors will have an opportunity to enter the fund during such increases. The target size of the fund after such increases is CZK 3 billion. The fund’s shares cannot be publicly offered and/or promoted. For more detailed information, entities interested in investments in the fund should contact the promoter of the fund. The financial funds will be allocated to specific projects on the basis of the decision of the fund’s Board of Directors, i.e. Ing. Pavel Makovec, Ing. Luděk Černovický, and Ing. Pavel Pršala, CSc.
The objective of the fund is to generate a return on the resources of its investors at the level common to private equity investments in the region of Central and Eastern Europe. The fund expects reinvestments of its profits as well as dividend payments to shareholders. 5 % of the fund’s resources will be maintained in a liquid form. The custodian of the fund will be ČSOB; KPMG will act as the fund’s auditor.
About the group Arca Capital
Arca Capital is a private equity and real estate group of a holding type, with its presence in Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Ukraine, and Great Britain. For the future, it is planning new and capital-intensive projects in the area of private equity and real estate in Slovakia as well as in the Czech Republic, but mainly in Ukraine, where the company has expanded its presence in the recent years. The group invests in companies operating in the segments of food industry, construction, telecommunications, information technologies, etc. At the beginning of 2008, it successfully concluded a five-year restructuring of the engineering company Czech Precision Forge, a.s. In Slovakia, the activities of the group are mainly focused on development projects. LIGHTPARK, a designer furniture department store, was opened in September, and the company is currently also realizing a residential project HUBICE DVORY. At the beginning of 2008, the group entered new sector of geodesy and cartography through the acquisition of GEODÉZIA Bratislava, a.s. In January of 2008, Arca Capital, together with its investment partners, acquired a majority share in a Ukrainian company CheZaRa, which mainly operates in the area of production of communication and security systems for space and civil sector. It is also preparing an extensive residential project “Sedm pramenů” and the development of logistics centers. The Arca Capital Group also cooperates with the company Sollaris Developers in development and real estate projects in Slovakia and Ukraine. Assets under management of Arca Capital currently amount to approximately EUR 125 million. Last December, the company issued corporate bonds in the amount of SKK 500 million, which enables potential individual investors to participate in the financing of its projects.
Further information:
Monika Dobrovodská
marketing & PR manager
Arca Capital
tel.: (+421) 258 253 514
GSM: (+421) 903 771 656
e-mail: dobrovodska@arcacapital.sk
www.arcacapital.sk
