After only 6 months of its existence, the international Internet company
Globopolis.com based in Prague, Czech Republic, received US $6
million in investment capital from the Advent International investment
fund.
Globopolis.com was established
in December 1999 as the city-search Web site for Central and Eastern
Europe. Based in Prague, Czech Republic, it currently covers eight major
cities in the region, namely Bratislava, Slovakia; Budapest, Hungary;
Vienna, Austria; Ljubljana, Slovenia; Berlin, Germany; Warszawa and
Krakow, Poland. Expansion into 15 additional cities has been announced.
Globopolis.com offers coverage of sights and events, contains travel
and accommodation information, and reviews of clubs, restaurants and cafis.
In addition, Globopolis.com offers services such as booking tickets, car rentals,
purchasing gifts, flowers, etc.
The founder of Globopolis.com, Mr. Scott Rodgers, an American living in
Prague, has been running popular cafi and bookstore The Globe for years,
It’s a famous meeting point of English speaking people living in or visiting
Prague. He transformed The Globe into a dot-com very quickly and
efficiently: just 6 months after starting the company, he managed to
receive one of the largest portions of investment capital into any
Internet start-up in the region.
Advent International
is one of the world’s largest private equity investment firms, with more
than US $3.5 billion under management and offices and advisors in 15
countries. In Central and Eastern Europe, it has invested more than
US $350 million into various market segments. Among its investments in
the region, the most important are Euronet Services, Hungarian
networking company; @Entertainment, the largest Polish cable TV
operator; Synergon, Hungarian systems integrator; Elender, the largest
Hungarian ISP; PSG, one of the largest
ISPs in Slovakia.
For its investment into Globopolis.com, Advent acquired 25% stake in the
company. For the further valuation, Glopolis.com plans to expand into
more cities and countries. The advanced technology of GSM and WAP is
also of interest to Globopolis. A WAP-based information site that can
be reached from mobile phones is currently in the works for Prague and
Bratislava, as well as other cities.
