May 11 (SeeNews) - Bulgarian private equity firm BlackPeak Capital said on Thursday that it plans to support the development of fast-growing Romanian small and mid-sized enterprises (SMEs) with investments of up to 40 million euro ($43.6 million) until 2026, or over the lifetime of its Southeast Europe Growth Equity Fund.
The capital will be directed towards innovative companies which have growth potential and have a positive economic, social, and environmental impact in the region, BlackPeak Capital said in a press release.
"With plans to invest tickets of 5-15 million euro in fast-growing companies in Romania and the region, we are excited to be part of this dynamic ecosystem and help drive sustainable growth," the investment firm's new Romania lead, Virgil Chitu, said. He added that the firm will focus on inorganic growth, backing portfolio companies in add-on acquisitions that would grow their business propositions to regional or even global level.
"We believe that sustainable growth is the only way to achieve our goals. That's why we are supporting companies on their pathway to net zero," Chitu also said.
BlackPeak Capital last year closed its Luxembourg-based Southeast Europe Growth Equity Fund at 126 million euro, with commitments from the European Investment Fund (EIF), the EBRD, the IFC, Erste Asset Management and Romania's BCR Pensii, alongside other regional pension funds.
The Bulgarian growth equity investor currently has only one portfolio company hailing from Romania, Verdino Green Foods, a plant-based meat alternatives start-up. Following BlackPeak Capital's investment in Verdino in 2021, the company has expanded to 13 markets, including Germany, the UK, the Netherlands, Poland and the U.S. Among BlackPeak Capital's other investments are Bulgarian network infrastructure provider Telelink Infra Services, logistics company euShipments and most recently, Slovenian biotech GenePlanet.
Set up in 2014, BlackPeak has over 150 million euro of assets under management and is focused on the ecosystems and markets of Romania, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Croatia and Serbia.
($ = 0.9166 euro)