US $50m for Ukraine fund

The US Government’s Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), has provided US $50m in financing to SigmaBleyzer Southeast European Fund IV, a private equity buyout fund founded by Kharkiv-born emigre Michael Bleyzer, whose organisation has US $1 bn in assets under management.

SigmaBleyzer specialises in US $25 m to US $50 m equity purchases in distressed and turnaround companies and currently holds a portfolio of four platform investments, including Volia Limited (cable television), Covalact SA (dairy), Elandia Holdings Limited (retail pharmaceutical), and Harmelia Investments Limited (agriculture). It is reported that the new funds will primarily be invested into Ukrainian telecommunications, consumer products and retail assets. This is the first private equity investment made by OPIC in Ukraine since the restoration of its programmes in the country following the signing in December 2010 of an agreement resolving a dispute over an insurance claim paid by OPIC.

“The SigmaBleyzer fund will bring new investment into the emerging markets of Eastern Europe, a goal we all support. It also marks OPIC’s return to Ukraine after the better part of ten years. We are excited about the many new possibilities for OPIC to support private sector development in Ukraine,” said OPIC President and CEO Elizabeth Littlefield.

She described the move as allowing SigmaBleyzer to “extend our ongoing commitment to invest in Ukraine and the other emerging economies of Eastern Europe. We believe there are significant opportunities to develop the companies, and economies, in which we’ve invested, and we’re focused on creating value for all of our stakeholders.”

Since first launching operations in Ukraine in the 1990s, OPIC has provided more than US $254 m in financing and insurance to 21 projects in Ukraine.