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GC GRAPEVINE www.gcgrapevine.com Prior to the 2008 crisis, we saw quite a lot of private equity investment coming into the country. Csilla Andrékó
managing partner of Kinstellar Budapest
interview private equity
Hungary remains hungry for investment Problems in the Ukraine and a complicated tax code have mean private equity investment is slow to trickle in Csilla Andrékó
Managing Partner Kinstellar Budapest Office Csilla Andrékó is the head of the firm-wide Banking, Finance & Capital Markets and Restructuring & Insolvency practices
Dániel Kaszás
Legal counsel Kinstellar Budapest Office Daniel Kaszás focuses on M&A, corporate law, competition law and dispute resolution
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The crisis had quite an impact on that, especially because those who invested in that time period couldn’t really get out after three or five years as they normally do. So there were two things the investors could do: They either held on to the investment and now that the conditions are better they can get out with some profit, or they had to sell original How was the climate of investment to completely get out. private equity investment in The latter were actually quite the Hungarian economy prior to difficult and painful exercises. the 2008 crisis and how has it We have seen in some cases changed since? where other equity funds were Csilla Andrékó: Prior to the brought into the structure, or 2008 crisis, we saw quite a lot of private equity investment coming even exotic investors from countries like China were coming into the country. This happened in and buying the investments in various sectors; for example, from the original private equity the telecom sector, the chemical industry and energy sector saw a firms. Sometimes they even lot of activity. Basically, between had to write off the investment completely, meaning they had 2006 and 2008 there was a lot of to get out with no gain at all. For private equity investment. n interview with Csilla Andrékó and Dániel Kaszás in the Budapest office of Kinstellar about the private equity climate in Hungary over the past few years and some current issues revolving the investment landscape.