Spanish investment fund GED Capital Investment is to take over the controlling interests in the Dasimpex group of companies, which operates one the biggest GSM equipment retail chains. The main seller is businessman Sorin Stoica.
The total value of the deal is about 10 million euros, with the takeover targeting five companies, the most important asset of which is Dasimpex SRL
Dasimpex is one of the top four GSM equipment retail chains on a fast growing market with annual sales in excess of 300 million euros. Dasimpex doubled its business to 20 million euros last year, as did other operators in the business.
Sorin Stoica, a 37-year-old entrepreneur who invested in mobile telephony-related business, would collect 4-4.5 million euros from GED capital in this transaction. GED will later spend a further 5 million euros for the development of the store chain, sources on the market say.
GED Eastern Fund II, managed by GED Capital, will hold a stake estimated at 60-65% of the Dasimpex group, and Sorin Stoica will retain 20 to 25%, quoted sources add. Besides GED Capital, another investor to buy into Dasimpex will be Adrian Catalin Breaban, a Dasimpex consultant, who will get 10%.
Sorin Stoica will remain the manager of the company, according to the latest information available.
GED Capital is not the first investment fund to invest in a chain of GSM retail stores. Greek financial investor Global Finance invested in the development of the Germanos network, which last year posted sales of nearly 100 million euros.
The takeover of Dasimpex GSM SRL and of the other companies that are involved in this transaction will be made through an investment vehicle, Kahn International Advisers.
When contacted by ZF, Sorin Stoica would not comment on the deal and would neither verify nor deny the name of the investment fund that he is in talks with.
Dasimpex, an Orange partner, has a chain of 40 stores and posted 14 million-euro turnover last year.
On this market, Euro GSM has 111 stores, Germanos - 104 and Avenir Telecom about 100, with 64 of its locations branded as Internity and the rest as Global Net. Dasimpex has been the main Orange partner over the last few years, with the partnership dating back to the days when the operator was still called Dialog, Dasimpex officials say.
Sorin Stoica controls two other telecom retailers, Lexor and Dasino, which are Vodafone and Zapp partners. Together, all three companies posted 20 million-euro turnover last year.
Dasimpex officials did not care to specify whether Lexor and Dasino are involved in the deal with the investment fund or not.
The officials of the company would not provide any details on this year's targets, but said the goal to reach 200 stores remained valid.
GED Capital representatives did not want to comment, either.
At the end of last year, Stoica announced he was in advanced talks to secure a several million-euro capital inflow from a foreign investment fund. However, he did not disclose the name of the fund.
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