SigmaBleyzer closes largest Ukraine fund

The US based manager focused on the Ukraine and south east Europe has lined up a list of blue-chip investors to close a €250m fund, 25 percent ahead of its target.

SigmaBleyzer, a private equity firm focused on Ukraine and south eastern Europe, has closed its fourth fund, SigmaBleyzer Southeast European Fund IV on €250 million ($326 million), hard-capped 25 percent above its initial target

It is the largest private equity fund in Ukraine and one of the largest funds in Southeastern Europe.

Fundraising began in August 2005 and it marks the group’s expansion into new territory beyond Ukraine.

SigmaBleyzer plans to continue the strategy deployed for its previous fund, UGF III, making controlling investments in high growth potential companies in the consumer sector, writing equity cheques of between €10 million and €70 million.

It will be able to invest through co-investment agreements with its investors, including a significant number of limited partners from the company’s previous funds, as well as new investors.

A total of 40 invested in the new fund, with investments ranging from a few million euros to 20 percent of the fund from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, SigmaBleyzer’s largest investor.

Other investors in the fund include Goldman Sachs, UBS, LVMH, Bank Austria, InvestKredit and some large financial institutions and family offices.

In 1996, SigmaBleyzer created the first Ukrainian Growth Fund. Since that time, UGF has grown into a family of three funds consisting of UGF I, UGF II, and UGF III.

SigmaBleyzer has offices in Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine, the Netherlands, and the US.