Advent Leads Synergon’s Follow-On Funding

Advent International and its affiliate Equinox Ventures have together supplied $3 million (ecu 2.7 million) of follow-on funding for Synergon Informatika, a leading Hungarian IT services group.

Synergon’s main activities include systems integration for voice and data networks, enterprise resource planning and financial software and CATV network design and installation. The group has an estimated 10% share of the Hungarian IT service market, and its client list includes Matav, the national telecommunications business, GSM service providers and major multinational and domestic businesses.

The private equity groups first invested in Synergon last year, providing $5 million to enable the company to expand its operations, develop new business, and fund strategic acquisitions. Synergon has since bought two software providers, Integra and Quality. These acquisitions, combined with organic growth, have boosted Synergon’s turnover to a forecast $45 million this year from $25 million in 1997.

Hungary’s IT market is currently growing at around 25% per annum, while demand in some services sectors is increasing even more rapidly as Hungarian companies seek to match the sophisticated IT systems of their Western counterparts to compete more effectively. The launch of several large-scale telecommunications and media projects will also boost domestic spending on IT.

Synergon will use the new capital to finance acquisitions and capital expenditure and to fund working capital to meet the demands of continued expansion as it prepares for a listing on the Budapest stock exchange next year.