Vlad Stan could get several millions of euros from Vodanet exit

Vlad Stan, one of the top five managers in the Romanian online industry, could collect several million euros from the sale of the 40% stake he holds in the online publishing company Vodanet Media, which he created over seven years ago. Stan announced his resignation from the position of general manager of Vodanet Media yesterday. In the coming period, he intends to become involved in new online start-ups and will also look for partnerships with entrepreneurs in order to attract funding for projects that entail online services. Vodanet holds sites such as acasa.ro – the second largest online portal in Romania, and ele.ro, the second largest site dedicated to women in Romania, and the site for comparing prices smartbuy.ro. If the same EBITDA multiple is applied to this sale as the one used for the Neogen transaction, i.e. 30, Vodanet could reach a market value of 9 – 10 million euros in 2008. At present, Vodanet is in negotiations with three potential buyers to sell a stake and is also considering floatation on the Stock Exchange. “We are in negotiations with three buyers, and we will soon be able to evaluate the company,” Vlad Stan told ZF. Vodanet expects business worth around one million euros this year, after the company registered turnover worth approximately 0.71 million euros and a gross profit worth 117,000 euros last year, according to the site of the Ministry of Finance. If the same turnover-profit ratio is preserved in 2007, Vodanet will derive profit worth around 330,000 euros amid turnover worth 1.5 million euros.