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Tag: AGF Private Equity

  • A World Without Crisis

    French fund AGF Private Equity, part of the Allianz Group, financed the eRepublik Labs with two million euros, the company behind the eRepublik virtual game developed by Romanian George Lemnaru, through a capital inflow, thus taking over an unspecified minority interest, with the shares issued precisely to make the deal possible.

    The two companies, however, started working together a year ago, when AGF Private Equity made its first investment, 200,000 euros in exchange for 4% in eRepublik. One of the smallest in its entire history, if we take into account the investments owns a portfolio that exceeds 2.5 billion euros, of which 20% directed to 60 IT&C and Internet companies. One might say that the first investment was an experiment, followed up with a ten times higher funding. ”Sometimes we invest in the first stages of the development of a company that has potential, and eRepublik is one of them; this new transaction confirms the bet on the virtual world,” says Guillaume Lautour, member in the companyís board of directors. Also in June 2008, Alexis Bonte, majority shareholder and chief executive of the company invested another 150,000 euros, besides the 200,000 he contributed as start-up capital, thus boosting his stake to 70%. At that moment eight entrepreneurs and business-angel type investors, among which two Romanians who had been living in France for a long time, joined the shareholders of the business. The total investment in eRepublik so far exceeds 2.75 million euros. In figures, last year’s deal, 11% in the company for 550,000 euros, means eRepublik has reached a value of 5 million euros, which makes it the most valuable website in Romania. ”Yet the current financing was based on a higher than initially assigned evaluation,” Bonte says.

    ”I believe the only investments that stand chances over the coming period are particularly those made online,” believes Vlad Stan, founder of SeedMoney, a kind of an investment fund that provides up to 50,000 euro support to new online projects, in exchange for a minority interest. It should be made clear though that a good online business does not mean adjusting a known international project such as YouTube for instance, or in this case the Second Life virtual world, to a small scale, but the exact opposite, developing a local project towards global reach. And the economic crisis is, in Alexis Bonte’s opinion, one of the best moments to invest in a start-up company, which tends to be more stable unlike the foreign capital markets, which are extremely volatile, or the big companies, which are going through a rough time and have to streamline.

    ”The two millions euros received from AGF Private Equity will be used over the next twelve months in order to develop each component of the game in greater detail,” says Alexis Bonte, explaining why so much money was needed for a platform that has expanded with investments of approximately 750,000 euros over the last two years. ”At this moment, the game is only 25% of what it will be as a result of the investments. In five years it could become the World of Warcraft of virtual worlds,” Bonte says. Subsequently, eRepublik will integrate a much more tactical combat system, while for the political component Lemnaru wants to develop a number of personalised administration types for each of the sixty countries in the game so that monarchy and dictatorship could be alternatives to the existing semi-parliamentary democracies.

  • Lumea virtuala eRepublik atrage finantari de 2 mil. euro

    Fondul de investitii francez a realizat aceasta finantare prin intermediul unei majorari de capital, preluand astfel un pachet minoritar de actiuni nou emise special pentru a face posibila tranzactia, dupa ce, in luna iunie a anului trecut, a investit pentru prima data in eRepublik Labs, compania din spatele jocului, suma de 200.000 de euro in schimbul a 4% din actiuni. “Uneori investim chiar foarte timpuriu in companii exceptionale, iar eRepublik este una dintre ele, aceasta noua finantare confirmand pariul facut pe lumea viruala online”, spune Guillaume Lautour, partener in cadrul AGF Private Equity.

    Cele doua milioane vor fi folosite in totalitate pentru dezvoltarea din punct de vedere tehnic a proiectului demarat in urma cu aproape doi ani de antreprenorul George Lemnaru si sustiunt financiar de omul de afaceri francez Alexis Bonte, care pana acum a urmat o traiectorie mai putin traditionala de extindere, pornind de la un prototip asupra caruia au fost aduse pe parcurs imbunatatiri in functie de parerile jucatorilor, “|n prezent, jocul reprezinta numai 25% din ce va rezulta in urma acestei runde de investitii, care ne permite sa punem in practica si ideile proprii, pe langa cele adunate de la cetatenii din lumea virtuala”, spune Bonte, directorul executiv si proprietarul a 70% din eRepublik Labs.

    Simulatorul politic, economic si militar se afla deja la a treia runda de investitii, finantarea totala ridicandu-se la peste 2,75 de milioane de euro. Dupa investitia de 200.000 de euro facuta in 2007 de la omul de afaceri francez, in actionariatul eRepublik au intrat anul trecut AGF Private Equity si opt antreprenori si investitori de tip “business angel” – Brent Hoberman, Laurent Laffy, Philippe Seignol, Diego Meller, Veronique Marsot Seignol, Stefan Glaenzer si Alexandre Almajeanu si

    Mihai Crasneanu, doi romani stabiliti de mai multa vreme in Franta – cele doua parti platind impreuna 400.000 de euro pentru un total de 8% din actiuni. Tot anul trecut, Alexis Bonte si-a extins participatia cu trei procente, in schimbul a 150.000 de euro, jocul fiind evaluat pe baza acestor investitii la 5 milioane de euro. “Finantarea actuala a fost facuta pe baza unei evaluari mai mari decat cea initiala”, spune Bonte, fara a da detalii exacte despre valoarea curenta a jocului de strategie online sau despre numarul exact de procente intrate in proprietatea fondului de investitii francez.

    |n prezent, eRepublik numara peste 350.000 de cetateni virtuali, fiind accesat zilnic de 120.000 de oameni din peste 200 de tari din lume. Site-ul www.erepublik.com a contorizat peste 3,7 de milioane de vizite si 95 de milioane de afisari in luna mai a acestui an, jucatorii petrecand mai mult de 55 de milioane de minute in lumea virtuala eRepublik pe parcursul acestei luni.