BAF makes first investment in Albania at Landeslease

TIRANA, Feb. 11 – The Balkan Accession Fund, a private equity fund, recently bought a number of shares at Landeslease, the largest independent leasing company in Albania.
Following that, Landeslease became part of the regional leasing group Emerging Europe Lease and Finance (EELF), which is primarily owned by the Balkan Accession Fund.
EELF seeks to become a leading leasing service in southeastern Europe.
Other companies which are part of that group include BM Leasing JSC in Bulgaria and Total Leasing JSC in Moldova.
“The Albanian leasing market is still in its initial stages. Since 2005 there have been some companies operating in that sector funding cars and other vehicles. Though still a small market, it is getting bigger fast,” according to Thomas Higgins, BAF Managing Partner.
The Balkan Accession Fund (BAF) aims at investing some 110 million Euros in the Balkan region.
The Balkan Accession Fund is a private equity fund managed by group seeking to take advantage of investment opportunities in the area.
Balkan Accession Management Company (BAMC) was initially founded in January 2005 as a joint venture between managers from the Romanian-American Enterprise Fund (RAEF) and the Bulgarian-American Enterprise Fund (BAEF). In October 2006, Balkan Accession Management Company announced the successful completion of fund raising activities for the Balkan Accession Fund, the total investor commitments reaching EUR 110 million.
BAF typically invests, through equity and/or mezzanine finance, in industry leaders active in double digit growth sectors and/or fragmented industries with consolidation potential, and having a clear domestic and/or regional expansion strategy through M&A/organic growth.
BAF focuses on investing in: financial services, retail, logistics & distribution, consumer products, information technology and telecommunications, healthcare, selected industrial, media and other consumer-related services.