CEE Private Equity Forum

Registration, Welcome, Coffee and Networking

CHAIR’S OPENING ADDRESS

PANEL: PRIVATE EQUITY IN NEW EUROPE – A NEW DAWN?

• Views on the current investment climate in CEE
• Prospects for the 2016 vintage transactions
• Evaluating political risk in the region after Brexit and the US elections
• LP views on CEE deal activity, GP quality, private equity performance, fund sizes, and how best to get exposure to CEE private equity
• Attractiveness of the latest generation of funds vs funds raised in vintages pre-2008

CASE STUDY: ALLEGRO DEAL

• Value creation strategy in Polish e-commerce sector – how to nourish and advance online and mobile commerce companies to realise their maximum potential and investors’ capital gain
• Teaming up for one of the biggest takeovers of a Polish company; what’s the importance of having a regional specialist on board?
• Deal Financing
• Post-deal strategy and the ideal exit scenario in the end?
• The rise of CEE internet retail – what investment opportunities lie ahead?

Refreshments and Networking

CASE STUDY: DINO POLSKA – CEE PRIVATE EQUITY STOCK EXCHANGE EXIT OF THE YEAR

PANEL: BUYING TO SELL RECENT PRIVATE EQUITY EXITS TRENDS IN CEE

• How are the volumes and values comparing to previous years?
• Who was eyeing region’s big deals in recent months and can it be a sign of Eastern Europe’s growing attractiveness?
• Closer look at Zabka, Alpha Medical, MedLife and Profi deals
• Is stock exchange a competition for PEs?
• Valuations in M&As vs valuations in IPOs
• What prime targets are next in a pipeline?

PANEL: CEE MID-MARKET PRIVATE EQUITY AS AN INVESTMENT DESTINATION. SCALING THE HIGH-POTENTIAL BUSINESSES.

• Mid-cap deals in the region, deal origination, pricing and execution – latest trends and market performance
• Succession-led acquisitions. Will the retiring generation of first postcommunist entrepreneurs find suitable buyers in private equity firms?
• Why and how are these successions a unique purchasing opportunity?

Lunch and Networking

LP PANEL: FUNDRAISING – IS IT BUOYANT OR CHALLENGING?

• Why is international fundraising still not picking up and local never took off?
• Is the current global political situation affecting this status quo? If so, is it in favour or against CEE market?
• What conditions need to be satisfied to attract capital into PE structures?
• Does the traditional PE model work in the CEE context? Does it serve a purpose?
• As there’s a new wave of emerging teams trying to fundraise in CEE, would LPs consider supporting them? Under which conditions?

Afternoon Refreshments and Networking

ASIAN OUTBOUND INVESTMENTS IN CEE – ENHANCING MULTILATERAL COOPERATION AND SEIZING BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES.

• What does the CEE market offer today that can’t be found elsewhere?
• A journey from sourcing to sealing the deal – Asian experience of executing deals in the region.
• Is the CEE perceived as a gateway to the EU? – The rationale behind transactions.
• How does the current political situation help to shape the economic integration between China, Asia and Europe?
• What are the objectives and key target sectors?

INTEGRATING IMPACT INVESTING AND SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP

• What is social investment and how is it different from the traditional investment market?
• How is an investment ready social enterprise looking like?
• What type of investment are needed by the social enterprises in CEE? How can impact investors contribute to the sustainability of the SEs?
• What role can traditional financial institutions have in the field?
• What can the CEE PE industry do to foster the field?
• How can the link between social entrepreneurs and investors be better facilitated?

Drinks Reception and Networking

Refreshments and Networking

CHAIR’S SUMMARY OF DAY ONE

ARE THE BIG PEs COMING BACK TO THE REGION?

• What’s the perception of CEE by foreign investors these days?
• What sectors are potentially more attractive for international investors?
• Mid-Cap / Large Cap segment, how are the opportunities in lower end of market perceived?
• After a robust series of landmark deals, is there a strong ground for GPs to regain their confidence in the region?
• How does a presence of a local partner help to make investment decision?
• Are recent deals with their Western bidders indicative of region’s growing appeal?
• What kept them away and what brought them back? What are Western investors wary of and is there anything they’ll do/they did differently this time?

DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION AND ADAPTATION MODELS – IMPACT ON PE STRATEGIES

• Assessing and developing company’s digital capabilities and how it determines future market place and competitiveness of the business
• Making digitization a part of due diligence process
• Target’s digital capabilities as an investment decision factor. Maximizing portfolios’ value by leveraging the potential of disruptive digital solutions
• How can it boost returns and decrease holding periods?

Morning Refreshments and Networking

PANEL: BEST PRACTICES FOR ACQUISITION FINANCING

• What are the prospects for debt availability in the region for 2018 and beyond?
• Alternative financing options in CEE
• Structuring deals to maximise leverage
• To what extent have the increasingly loose documentation standards witnessed in the Western European leveraged loan market crossed over into recent CEE transactions?
• Favourable loan market conditions have made HY bonds less frequently used by financial sponsors recently; what is the outlook for the HY bond product in CEE?
• The CEE LBO financing market has traditionally been a bank market. Will this change in the near future?

PANEL: VENTURE CAPITAL – GROWTH FINANCING OPPORTUNITIES IN CEE. CATCHING UNICORNS

• Scaling up high growth ventures and the challenges of financing them
• How to successfully ‘export’ local companies – expanding CEE businesses to global markets
• Does CEE have the makings of the new tech hub?
• What are the success stories in CEE VC space so far and where can we expect the next unicorn to come from?

Chair’s Summation and Closing Remarks

Lunch and Networking

End of Conference