Athens, Greece, September 30, 2021

SouthBridge Advisors AIFM (www.southbridgeadvisors.com) announces completion of first closing of SouthBridge Europe Mezzanine II SCA, SICAR at €174 million.

The new fund is based in Luxembourg, invests mainly in Greek SMEs and is backed by prime private and institutional investors such as the European Investment Fund (EIF), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the Hellenic Development Bank of Investments (HDBI, ex-TANEO).

SouthBridge II follows upon SouthBridge Europe Mezzanine Fund I successful investment strategy, which achieved consistent high growth across all its portfolio companies, i.e., HotelBrain Group, Alfa Dianomes / Inkat, Cosmos Yachting, Manifest, Katikies Group, Diakinisis, Arivia and Skroutz. SouthBridge I landmark realized transactions include the sale of leading producer of plant-based cheese Arivia to multinational food company Upfield (owned by KKR) and partial sale of Greece’s leading e-commerce platform Skroutz to CVC.

SouthBridge II will continue on the same investment principles to actively support with both capital and know-how successful entrepreneurs who seek taking the next step in terms of their company’s growth.

More specifically, SouthBridge II investments aim at building lasting value for its portfolio companies by investing capital to fund organic growth and M&A initiatives as well as implementation of capital and operational restructuring plans.

SouthBridge announces SouthBridge Fund II’s first investment in Biologiko Chorio, a company that operates the largest retail chain of organic products in Greece currently comprising of 19 operating stores in the greater Attika region as well as 6 more under development. Biologiko Chorio, having developed significant proprietary know-how in the field of organic products, has invested in recent years in the proper education of the consumer and has effectively supported Greek bio-producers and representatives. It is worth noting that during 2020, the company’s revenues exceeded 15 million euros, showing an increase of 40% over the previous year.