ARALON invests in real estate and the most attractive companies, mostly small- and medium-sized enterprises, in Central Eastern Europe (CEE), South East Europe (SEE), the Caucasian Region and selected countries of the former Soviet Union (Commonwealth of Independent States, CIS). We take advantage of the convergence of European markets and pursue cross-regional transactions from Eastern to Western Europe, and vice versa. 

According to ARALON’s wave theory, the first wave of market development in Eastern Europe since the mid-’90s took place in CEE. Currently, the second wave targets SEE, creating high-growth dynamics (GDP growth in 2005 of about 5%, compared with EU25 GDP growth of <2%). A third wave starts in the Russian-speaking countries (Russia, Ukraine, Belarus), with Ukraine as the rising star, as well as Turkey – both of which are focus countries for ARALON. 

From the regions mentioned above, ARALON focuses on the Black Sea Region (BSR), in particular, Romania, Bulgaria, Ukraine and Turkey. As these countries are connected by the Black Sea, they form an intrinsic trade zone with a formidable economic potential.  

In private equity, there are different options for transaction strategies in Eastern Europe:

• Buyout/succession solutions/spin-offs
• Capital for growth
• Platform strategies (market consolidation over buy and build)
• Cross-border expansion (regional, Western Europe)