Austrian investment company VCP looking to invest in Hungary, Poland - senior partner

Austrian investment company Vienna Capital Partners (VCP) is looking into possible investments in Hungary and Poland backed by a war chest of about EUR 500 mln, Senior Partner Heinrich Pecina told Interfax on Wednesday.

"Currently, we have somewhere about EUR 500 mln which could be invested… [and] we are constantly seeking new investment targets - right now, for example, in Hungary and Poland among others," Pecina said on the sidelines of a Wednesday press conference in Budapest.

VCP is likely to divest from its holding in Hungarian chemical firm BorsodChem (BC) by the end of October, as the company has recently signed an option agreement with UK private equity fund Permira. VCP stands to cash in HUF 53.3 bln (EUR 193 mln) from its BC stake, but will hold on to its minority shareholding in petrochemical firm TVK. At the same time, Pecina said he is looking to invest in other industries in Hungary as well.

"Right now we are looking at a target that is completely different from the chemicals sector,” he said. “I also see great potential in the tourism and wine industry, for example, not just in Hungary but also in Romania and Bulgaria.”

He noted, though, that finding the right target is very difficult and that just one out of about every 50 planned acquisitions actually results in a closed deal.

At the same time, VCP is also looking into Poland as an investment target, after having divested recently from its two companies there.

"Poland is a very large and attractive market with great potential,” Pecina said. “It is well-situated, with one giant, Germany, to the west, another in Russia to the east and Scandinavia to the north. It is a huge market, with attractive potential especially in the transport, logistics and infrastructure sectors.”

VCP previously held stakes in Polish energy firm Polski Gaz and logistics company Cemet, while it currently has investments in Austria, Serbia and Croatia in addition to Hungary.
Source:onet.pl