Owners of Romanian DIY retail chain Dedeman set up investment fund

Romanian investors Dragos and Adrian Paval, the owners of do-it-yourself retail chain Dedeman, the most successful entrepreneurial business in Romania, have recruited Laurentiu Ciocirlan, head of Raiffeisen Bank's investment department, to run a private equity fund targeting small and medium-sized companies in Romania, Ziarul Financiar reported.

Ciocarlan has built a 15-year career with Raiffeisen and has coordinated some of the largest listings on the Romanian stock exchange.

The fund will be fully financed by Pavăl Holding, a company with a social capital of EUR 1 billion, the largest holding owned directly by Romanian entrepreneurs. Pavăl Holding is the largest company set up in 2018, in terms of share capital, and is owned by Dragoş Pavăl (60%) and by Adrian Pavăl (40%).

"We think it is a good time to focus on this segment of companies that have very few financing options for development, despite being the most dynamic and promising segment in Romania's economy,” Dragos Pavăl said.

He added that this is the first private equity fund with Romanian capital “and wants to support local firms both in consolidating their presence on the Romanian market and in their regional expansion”.

The Paval brothers have been diversifying their holdings in recent years by buying stakes in big listed companies and large office properties.

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