Axxess Capital ponders selling 25% stake in Romanian BitDefender

Axxess Capital, one of the most active private equity funds in the Romanian market, wants to sell a stake of 25% in cyber security company BitDefender in a transaction estimated at EUR 150 - 180 million, according to sources in the financial market, cited by local Ziarul Financiar. BitDefender is a Romanian antivirus producer, which currently benefits from a very high exposure on the domestic and international market as a result of recent cyber-attacks. Axxess Capital, the fund managed by the Romanian investor Horia Manda plus other private investors, holds a 40% stake in BitDefender. Axxess and BitDefender have hired Deutsche Bank to find investors for this sale, according to the same sources. Horia Manda and BitDefender representatives didn’t want to comment on the information. BitDefender is controlled by Romanian entrepreneurs Florin Talpes and Mariuca Talpes, who founded the group more than two decades ago. Florin Talpes doesn’t provide information on the group’s international financial results. The latest available data for Romania indicate a turnover of EUR 87 million in 2015. However, Romania is only a part of the company's business. Romanian tech group Bitdefender buys French partner Profil Technology (photo source: Bitdefender on Facebook) editor@romania-insider.com