Catalyst Romania Fund I exits avocatnet.ro, the leading Information as a Service platform dedicated to compliance and regulatory insights in Romania
Catalyst Romania Fund I announces the sale of its shares in avocatnet.ro (Inteligo Media) back to the Company’s founding team and celebrates a long lasting collaboration with the Company, based on an investment which shaped the remarkable evolution of avocatnet.ro into the most important Information as a Service platform of its kind in Romania, trusted by professionals and entrepreneurs across the country.
This marks Catalyst Romania’s 6th exit, after VectorWatch was sold to FitBit, SmartBill to Visma, 123FormBuilder to Kiteworks, Vola.ro to Resource Partners, Green Horse Games to Miniclip/Tencent.
Initially focused on advertising-based revenues, avocatnet.ro grew steadily, particularly after the investment from Catalyst Romania Fund I, into a comprehensive digital resource, delivering daily insights and in-depth analyses of legislative and tax developments based on a subscription model, proving that the Romanian businesses have caught up with their Western European counterparts and understand the value of the Information as a Service business model proposed by the Company. Over the years, the Company has also expanded its educational mission by offering online courses, workshops, and practical guidance—assisting everyone from freelance professionals to established businesses not only in navigating recently introduced regulations, such as GDPR, e-Factura or SAF-T, but also in managing the intricacies of Romania’s broader legislative landscape. Operating under the Inteligo Media umbrella, avocatnet.ro has emerged as an authoritative voice for Romanian professionals seeking clarity in a rapidly changing regulatory landscape.
“Our collaboration with avocatnet.ro demonstrates the fact that constructive dialogue and genuine partnership can foster a company’s growth and development. We’ve had the privilege of working alongside talented founders who consistently pushed for innovation, user-centric solutions, and high-quality educational offerings. We’re delighted to see avocatnet.ro now recognized as one of the country’s most trusted portals, a leading hub for legislative and tax-related knowledge and we are certain the team will keep raising the bar, but for Catalyst Romania Fund I it is time for the exit, given the vintage of our initial VC fund, the first VC Fund for Romania, launched based on the JEREMIE initiative a dozen years ago” said Marius Ghenea, Managing Partner Catalyst Romania.
“We would like to thank Marius Ghenea and Alina Georgescu from Catalyst Romania for all these years of collaboration. We highly recommend them to anyone who believes they are developing something extraordinary and needs a partner to help take their business to the next level. For us, working with Catalyst has been a crucial step in our company’s growth. Without a doubt, avocatnet.ro would not be what it is today—one of the largest business publications in Romania and a SuperBrands award winner in the last two consecutive editions of the program—without the journey we have taken alongside Catalyst. We would also like to thank Mihai Sfințescu for initiating our collaboration” said Alin Popescu, Founder & CEO avocatnet.ro.
About avocatnet.ro
avocatnet.ro is Romania’s leading Information as a Service platform, offering reliable, up-to-date insights on legislative and tax matters for professionals and entrepreneurs. Founded with the mission of simplifying legal and financial information, avocatnet.ro has evolved into one of the most trusted digital resources for business compliance, regulatory updates, and expert analysis.
Through a robust subscription-based model, the platform delivers daily legislative updates, in-depth tax interpretations, and actionable guidance, helping businesses stay ahead of regulatory changes. Over the years, avocatnet.ro has expanded its offerings beyond news and analysis to include online courses, workshops, and practical tools, ensuring that Romanian professionals—from freelancers to large corporations—have the knowledge they need to navigate the complexities of an ever-changing legal environment.
About Catalyst Romania
Catalyst Romania is a pioneer in private equity and venture capital investments in Romania by launching the country’s first dedicated fund in 2012, financed through the JEREMIE initiative and then, in the end of 2020, launching its second-generation fund, Catalyst Romania Fund II. The Catalyst Romania funds focus on providing early growth capital to young technology and tech-enabled companies from Romania and Eastern Europe, having potential to become leaders in the CEE region, or to reach a global presence and success.
Catalyst Romania Fund I is a VC fund managed by Catalyst I GP, both companies being organized under Luxembourg laws and acting as an alternative investment fund and respectively as an alternative investment fund manager.
About Jeremie
JEREMIE (“Joint European Resources for Micro to Medium Enterprises” or “Joint European Resources for Micro to medium Enterprises in”) was 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 aimed to improve access to finance for SMEs in the European Union. In Romania, the JEREMIE Holding Fund was initially financed by the Sectoral Operational Programme “Increase of Economic Competitiveness” 2007-2013. Since 2020, the reflows from the JEREMIE initiative continue to be managed by EIF and to be utilised for financing new SMEs.
About EIF
The European Investment Fund is part of the European Investment Bank Group. Its central mission is to support European microenterprises and SMEs by providing access to finance. EIF develops venture capital and growth instruments, guarantees, and microfinance instruments explicitly targeting this market segment. Through its role, EIF promotes EU objectives in support of innovation, research and development, entrepreneurship, growth, and employment.