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The EBRD has made a minority equity investment into a leading Romanian technology company, AROBS Transilvania Software S.A, to support it in pursuing its regional growth strategy in central and eastern Europe. The EBRD investment was part of a larger primary and secondary share offering of €38.0 million (RON 189.3 million) subscribed by other retail and institutional investors.
The EBRD investment will support a fast-growing, founder-owned business with the potential to become a top-tier software development company both through organic growth and mergers and acquisitions.
Around 80-90 per cent of the primary proceeds will support AROBS’ acquisition strategy, enabling it to become a regional leader by accessing new markets, diversifying risk across countries and reducing client concentration. The remainder of the primary proceeds will be used for working capital purposes and support AROBS’ organic growth.
The investment will also enhance AROBS’ stock liquidity by increasing its free float on the Bucharest Stock Exchange from 22 per cent (pre-offering) to approximately 40 per cent, helping the company attract long-term local and international investors.
"We are very happy to become one of AROBS’ minority shareholders. This investment confirms the EBRD’s commitment to support the vibrant local IT sector and further develop such businesses into regional champions,” said Victoria Zinchuk, EBRD Director, Head of Romania.
Voicu Oprean, AROBS founder and CEO, said: "We are very proud to welcome EBRD as an investor. This transaction creates added value for AROBS, the Romanian technology industry, and the Bucharest Stock Exchange. The partnership will help us become more resilient by improving our liquidity and growing our attractiveness, competitiveness and footprint in international markets."
Founded in 1998 by Voicu Oprean, AROBS provides custom software development services across several industries, including automotive, marine, aerospace, healthcare, travel and hospitality, and fintech.
The EBRD began collaborating with AROBS in 2008, providing advisory support to develop the branding of its first Romanian GPS used for fleet management. In 2014-2015, the Bank provided the company with international advisory expertise to support AROBS’ strategic planning as well as organisational development.
The company was publicly listed on the Bucharest Stock Exchange’s secondary AeRO Market in December 2021 and transferred to the Main Market in September 2023.
The EBRD has worked in Romania for more than three decades, investing almost €11 billion through 525 projects. |
