Polish Enterprise Fund V, a Polish investment fund, and the investment arm of US corporation Intel have both made known their wish to acquire a stake in software producer Siveco Romania, IT market sources told Ziarul Financiar.
Discussions are underway for the purchase of 25% in Siveco from the company”s management, sources say, though talks are at a preliminary stage and there is currently no guarantee a deal will be made.
Anca Crahmaliuc, the Siveco marketing manager, said: “We do not wish to comment on this issue”. Representatives of the Polish investment fund were also unwilling to comment.
According to same sources, however, early estimates put the deal at 18-19 million euros.
The Polish investment fund, which is managed by Enterprise Investors, owns close to 75% in the consortium formed with the US strategic investor that is involved in the talks through its German division.
Romanian IT companies have recently aroused the interest of Western IT giants, including Microsoft, Ness Technologies (which acquired Radix) and Siemens (which recently took over Forte Company).
Siveco Romania is 60% owned by Siveco BV of the Netherlands. Of the remaining 40%, a 30% stake is held by the management and 10% by employees. Siveco has seen a number of shareholder changes over the years.
Siveco BV became a shareholder in 2003.
Siveco is now in the middle of a dispute. It has been accused of benefiting from a 182 million dollar (140 million euro) contract that was handed out directly by the Ministry of Education and Research during the tenure of the last government.
The contract was for the supply of IT equipment to schools and is said to include prices that were higher than those of other IT suppliers. The Court of Accounts and a ministry commission have begun investigating the case.
Siveco Romania was ranked among the top performing large companies in the IT field by the Romanian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Bucharest Municipality. Recent studies for 2003 show the software producer to be a market leader in terms of business solutions (EAS – enterprise applications suite), with a market share of 30.9%. Siveco also ranks first on the domestic IT services market, with a market share estimated at 10.52% by US research company International Data Corp. (IDC).
Last year saw Siveco Romania derive a higher turnover that expected, around 60% up on 2003 when the company”s revenues amounted to some 18.9 million euros.
The company”s plans for 2005 have already been 75% achieved thanks to the amount of contracts already signed, says Irina Socol, Siveco general manager. adrian.mirsanu@zf.ro