ADM Capital, a Hong-Kong-based private equity fund, and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development have acquired a 30% stake in Bulgarian lubricants and battery maker Prista Oil Group.

The financing package comprises EUR 48 M of equity and convertible instruments structured in an innovative way that will allow the company to reorganise its balance sheet, the Bulgarian company announced.

Additionally the EBRD will be providing a EUR 12 M loan to finance Prista Oil Group's capital investment programme.

ADM Capital and EBRD will thus replace Gramercy Emerging Markets Fund as the minority investor in Prista.

Prista Oil Group operates in over 20 countries, mainly in central and eastern Europe, and more than half of its revenues come from exports.

This project will enable Prista Oil Group to restructure its shareholding by buying out a minority shareholder, to improve its balance sheet and corporate structure, and to optimise its operational efficiency.

Additionally the EBRD's financing will support the expansion of Prista Oil Group's branded network of service centres outside Bulgaria (in Turkey, Romania, Hungary and the Slovak Republic), the installation of new equipment and the upgrade of the corporate IT system.

"Supporting the development of the corporate sector and export-oriented enterprises is one of the EBRD's key priorities in Bulgaria. The Bank has developed a strong track record to provide long-term debt and equity restructuring solutions for manufacturing firms. This project will demonstrate the benefits of successful restructuring for other corporates in the EBRD region," said Jean Marc Peterschmitt, EBRD Managing Director for Central and South-Eastern Europe.

This is ADM Capital's first investment in Bulgaria.

"In entering new countries we always seek companies with strong and stable market shares and an unwavering commitment from the company's principal owners.  We believe that Prista Oil satisfies all these requirements," Anthony Stalker, Partner and Head of ADM Capital Europe, commented.

"We are delighted to have been able to attract this investment and to join forces with two excellent partners. We believe that this is a validation of Prista's management team," added Plamen Bobokov, Chairman of Prista Oil Group.

Prista Oil is headquartered in Bulgaria's Danube city of Ruse. It produces 150 kinds of motor oils and industrial lubricants, including brands of Texaco and Valvoline.

The company was founded in 1993 by the brothers Atanas Bobokov and Plamen Bobokov. In 1998 it merged with Monbat (located in the northwestern Bulgarian city of Montana), which is Bulgaria's major car batteries producer.

Prista Oil has distribution companies in several Eastern European countries, as well as a production facility in Izmit, Turkey, and a terminal at the Black Sea Port of Odessa in the Ukraine.