Leading eCommerce Company in Romania Successfully Closes Major Milestone
Bucharest, Romania – August, 2016: Elefant.ro, one of the leading eCommerce companies in Romania announced today that it has raised €5.5 million new round of funding led by Axxess Capital Emerging Europe Accession Fund, one of the leading growth capital investors in Romania. Existing investor Catalyst Romania, advised by 3TS Capital Partners, also participated in this round. The completion of the transactions is pending the approval of the Romanian Competition Council.
Elefant.ro was launched as an online bookstore in 2010 and subsequently became the largest national book retailer. Gradually, Elefant.ro developed into a general eCommerce company with new product categories such as watches, perfumes, bags, home-deco, toys, sunglasses and more. Today, Elefant.ro is one of the largest general online retailers in Romania and continues to demonstrate strong growth through its product offering, competitive prices and diversification of delivery options which now include 18 pick-up points in 6 cities from Romania. The Company recently opened its first international operation in Republic of Moldova.
“We had strong belief in Elefant.ro’s future growth potential. Elefant.ro is now the online retailer with the fastest growth in the eCommerce in both Romania and Republic of Moldova. We are eager to actively support further development of the Company” stated Ion Sturza, President of Fribourg Capital.
Horia Manda, Managing Partner of Axxess Capital added that “EEAF wants to bring its expertise and capital to support Elefant.ro in its new growth phase. We trust that the management team is capable and Elefant.ro will enjoy higher growth rates as the online retail market in Romania matures.”
This round of funding is the largest secured by Elefant.ro to date and follows the strong sales momentum and growth for the Company. “I’m glad that our existing investors and Axxess Capital share our vision about the growth of eCommerce in Romania. The new investment will be used to develop our technology further and to expand in CEE” said Dan Vidrascu, CEO of Elefant.ro.
About Elefant.ro
Elefant.ro (www.elefant.ro) is one of the largest online retailers in Romania, offering a wide product range to more than 600.000 clients. Clients can choose if they want to receive the products through a courier or if they want to get it themselves directly from the 18 pick-up points that the company has in Bucharest and in other 5 cities of Romania. Founded in 2010, the company has recently expanded outside Romania, opening a subsidiary in Chisinau, Republic of Moldova and launching a new online store www.elefant.md.
About Fribourg Capital
Fribourg Capital is a private equity and venture capital fund, headquartered in Bucharest and having operations in Eastern Europe and CSI. The Company has a strong history, proven by its former projects, being appreciated as the leader of the specific industry. Fribourg Investments takes the concept of growth investments to a new level. In our philosophy, the investments in companies active in economy sectors with strong growth represent just a side of our purpose. We take responsibility to sustain and to work next to the management teams in developing strategies that bring long term value and that prepare the investments for future exits. The Fribourg Investments Portfolio includes companies that are active in the IT&C domain, real estate, human resources, industrial production and agriculture.
About Axxess Capital
Axxess Capital is an independent investment consultant, with more than 15 years’ experience on the South-Eastern European small and medium capital investment market, having given investment consultancy for three funds with investment capital of more than 250 million euro. The Axxess Capital Team has assisted until now more than 35 company acquirements and more than 27 exits, sustaining growth and development of many companies active in sectors like financial services, processing industry, IT, specialized retail, consumption goods etc. Emerging Europe Accession Fund is a regional investment fund with a capital of 70 million euro, focused mostly on capitalization of investment opportunities with big growth potential located in Romania and Bulgaria but also other Eastern European countries. For more information, please visit the website: www.axxesscapital.net.
About Jeremie
JEREMIE (“Joint European Resources for Micro to Medium Enterprises” or “Joint European Resources for Micro to medium Enterprises in”) is a joint initiative of the Directorate-General for Regional Policy of the European Commission and the European Investment Bank Group (which includes European Investment Fund), which aims to improve access to finance for SMEs in the European Union. In Romania, the JEREMIE Holding Fund is financed by the European Regional Development Fund in the Sectoral Operational Programme “Increase of Economic Competitiveness”, Priority Axis 1 “An innovative and eco-efficient production” – Key Area of Intervention 1.2. “Access to finance for SMEs”. In Romania, apart from private equity, the JEREMIE initiative has so far supported almost EUR 200m in new SME loans through the guarantee facility implemented through three local banks and has recently launched a funded risk sharing instrument operated with four Romanian banks.
About 3TS Capital Partners
3TS Capital Partners is one of the leading European technology focused private equity and venture capital firms. 3TS provides expansion capital and buyout funding for small and medium-sized businesses in growth sectors including Technology & Internet, Media & Communications and Technology-Enabled Services. Investors in the current and past 3TS funds totaling over €300 million include EIF, EBRD, Cisco, OTP, Sitra, 3i and KfW among others. For further information, please visit www.3tscapital.com