ARGUS beats target

ARGUS Capital Partners II received allocations from 22 investors, including several returning investors, ranging from financial institutions, insurance companies and pension funds, to fund of funds and family offices in North America, Europe, the Middle East and the Far East.

Ali Artunkal, managing partner of ARGUS, said: “The deal pipeline remains strong in Central and Eastern Europe with an excellent investment and exit environment as a result of strong economic growth, increased foreign direct investment and the quality of local management teams. Institutional investors are increasingly recognising the attractive investment returns that can be generated from private equity investment in the region, evidenced by the investor appetite for ARGUS’s second fund.”

The fund has already made its first investment, a Polish manufacturer of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) called GTX Hanex Plastic for an undisclosed amount.

Almeida Capital acted as placement agent for ARGUS Capital Partners II and SJ Berwin as legal advisor.

ARGUS Capital Partners I raised a little over €130m in 1999. It made its third exit in September 2006 with the sale of Svoboda Press the largest commercial printer in the Czech Republic, to EuroDruck Service for an undisclosed sum. This transaction represented an IRR of 25% and a money multiple of 3.9x.