In December, the European Investment Fund based in Luxemburg has committed € 12,4 Mio in E-Capital III (S.C.A.) SICAR. The total fund’s commitments have therefore reached € 95 Mio, i.e. well beyond the € 80 Mio minimal target size and close to the € 100 Mio hard cap. Two thirds of the funds raised are coming from private investors and one third from institutional investors (funds of funds). E-Capital III (S.C.A.) SICAR shall close its fund raising – with no doubt- before June 2012.

Fourteen months after the acquisition of Verona, a PVC and aluminium window and door producer/distributor based in Booischot, E-Capital II reinforces its position in this market with the acquisition of Vertirama, a PVC-only window producer/distributor based in Tielt. This acquisition will give access to the segments of independent installers and turnkey projects. The combined turnover of the 2 companies will reach c. € 25 Mio in 2011.

Garden Vision Group acquires a fifth garden center, Vive Mon Jardin, located on the belgian side of the Knauf shopping center of Schmiede (Luxembourg). This acquisition reinforces the leadership position of Garden Vision (now Oh! Green) in Wallonia.

E-Capital I sells its 60% stake in Euroglas-De Landtsheer, a Belgian independent specialist in toughened and multilayer glass. E-Capital I stepped in the business in early 2006 alongside the management. A major step was the late 2006 acquisition of Safetyglass, a Fleurus-based competitor. This acquisition led to a significant production capacity expansion and to the opening of the French-speaking market.

Garden Vision Group completes the acquisition of Magasins Superjardin, the largest garden center in the region of Tournai. This acquisition will bring the total turnover of the group to 30 MioEuro. Other acquisitions are planned for the coming months.

With the objective of collecting a total amount of 100MioEUR, E-Capital III (S.C.A.) SICAR has started its fund raising early 2011. On June 17, the fund has completed a first closing at 65MioEUR and has been approved by the CSSF, the Luxembourg financial market authority. The whole process should be completed by the end of the year without placement agent involvement. The General Partner will be E-Capital Partners, based in Luxembourg, and E-Capital Partners’ investment advisor will be E-Capital Equity Management, based in Brussels.

All garden centers of the Garden Vision group (namely Goldie in Louvain-la-Neuve, Convert in Namur and Hobby Garden in Liège) are now regrouped under a unique brand : Oh! Green. More details to be found on www.ohgreen.be. Oh! Green becomes the largest independent garden center chain in the French speaking part of the country. All visuals have been adapted accordingly.

E-Capital Equity Management, the management and advisory company of the E‑Capital funds, announces the arrival of Yvan Jansen as Partner. Together with Jérôme Lamfalussy, Eric van Zuijlen and Yves Trouveroy, he will lead the firm and support E‑Capital Equity Management in its new ambitions.
Till recently, Yvan Jansen was Senior Partner and Managing Director of The Boston Consulting Group, based in Brussels. He worked for 20 years at BCG, has been operating out of Paris, London and Brussels and was strongly engaged in BCG’s Private Equity activities across Europe. Yvan Jansen studied Law at Leuven (KUL) before getting his Masters Degree in Economics at Louvain (UCL). He obtained an MBA from the University of Chicago, Booth School of Business.
ECEM strongly believes that the complementary skill-set within its partner team will provide existent and future portfolio companies the professional support to realize their growth agenda.

E-Capital will launch in 2011 its third fund, E-Capital III.
Target commitment will be 80 M€ with a hard cap at 100 M€. E-Capital III will invest between € 4 and 10 Mio per investment, therefore aiming at a total portfolio of 10 to 12 companies.
It will make equity and quasi-equity investments in non-listed Belgian companies with a turnover between € 7.5 and 50 Mio or with an enterprise value between € 10 and 50 Mio. The Fund will privilege investments in proximity businesses with buy-and-build opportunities or business with major organic growth opportunities, both areas where it has experienced favourable returns.
It will be managed by E-Capital Partners, its General Partner, and advised by E‑Capital Equity Management, the advisory company of the E-Capital funds. The partners of E‑Capital have advised the previous E‑Capital funds since 2004 on 12 buyout transactions (19 including the add-ons).

E-Capital II, alongside the founder, Ronald Vetters, and the CEO, Stefan De Vries, becomes shareholder of Verona, one of the largest producer and distributor of high quality PVC and aluminium window and doors in Belgium. The company operates in both the new construction and renovation segments. The company sells his products through a number of showrooms (currently Asse, Beveren, Booischot, Hasselt and Westmalle) which cover almost the entire Flanders region expect Western Flanders and south part of Flemish Brabant.
All shareholders are committed to a growth strategy that will be done by means of geographical expansion (via new showrooms or acquisitions) and broadening of the current assortment with complementary products.