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HAPPY SPANISH NATIONAL DAY

The anniversary of Columbus’ landing in the New World on October 12, 1492, is widely celebrated throughout the Americas. Celebration of the anniversary in Spain dates to 1935, when the first festival was held in Madrid. The day was known as Día de la Hispanidad, emphasizing Spain’s connection to the Hispanidad, the international Hispanic community.

 As our company has Spanish roots, we want to mention the importance of  Infrastructure Sector & Contractors & Civil Engineers in Spanish economy and how are recognised worldwide.

Our team is proud to celebrate in Bucharest, Belgrade and Cluj-Napoca the Spanish National day this year and we would like to highlight some of the best Infrastructure achievements of Spain wishing that Romania and Eastern Europe will follow through with this example.

  • Renowned worldwide for high-speed rail

If there is a sector that Spain has been leading for years it is that of high-speed rail. Since the first AVE line in 1992 until today, Spain has become the no.1 nation in Europe in terms of the length of its high-speed network – more than 3,240 kilometres – and the second in the world, only surpassed by China. We don’t stand out just for length: according to a study by the Economic Studies’ Institute (IEE) in 2016, with data from the World Economic Forum, Spain has the fourth best rail network in the world in terms of quality, surpassed only by Japan, Switzerland and Hong Kong.

  • Amongst the top 5 airports

In addition to high-speed rail, Spanish infrastructures stand out worldwide for their present airport network, one of the most modern in the world and with the highest air connectivity. It is ranked fifth in the world in terms of the number of connections with 325 domestic routes and 1,300 flights abroad. 

  • The leading country in Europe in terms of motorways and freeways

As far as the road system is concerned, Spain is ranked first in Europe in terms of kilometres of motorways and freeways according to the Ministry of Public Works. It has 17,163 kilometres of toll motorways, toll-free motorways, freeways and multilane roads. Germany as 13,000 kilometres and France around 12,000.

The Environmental Performance Index (EPI) for 2018, drafted by the Universities of Yale and Columbia, in collaboration with the World Economic Forum, ranks Spain 12th amongst 180 countries based on 24 indicators which include environmental health and ecological vitality.

  • Spanish companies are ranked amongst the top companies worldwide with the most motorway concessions in the world according to Engineering News Record (ENR) and Publics Works Financing (PWF).
  • As far as port infrastructures are concerned, three Spanish ports are on the list of the top ten in Europe with the most container traffic in 2018. Valencia, Algeciras and Barcelona. The report Top 200 container ports  2018, drawn up every year by Transporte XXI, indicated that in 2017 Spanish ports reached 16 million TEUs, up 5% on the previous year. A new record which consolidates Spain as the eighth power worldwide in this business and the second in Europe, behind Germany.
  • Infrastructure combined with sustainability

At present 17.5% of the energy consumed in Spain is renewable, according to the Association of Renewable Energy Companies (APPA), about the average for the European Union. This percentage is even higher in the case of electricity generation, as almost 50% of electrical consumption derives from renewable sources, such as hydraulic, wind, solar and thermosolar, according to Red Eléctrica.

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Urban Dialogues: Startup the Resilient City

Held in Cluj-Napoca, Romania on 22th of March 2019

Briefing

We are living in an increasingly urban world with 68% of the world’s population estimated to live in cities by 2050. While cities are engines of the global economy accounting for 80% of GDP, they also produce 75% of CO2. Consequently, the role of cities is crucial in meeting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the recommendations set out in the Europe 2020 strategy, as well as in the Urban Agenda of the EU.

Cities need to find ways on leveraging smart and sustainable innovation both in how they design and deliver municipal services and opportunities. Resilience building in cities must adopt a people-centered approach that goes far beyond infrastructure considerations.

This is why UN-Habitat firmly believes that working directly with local governments and their partners is essential as they are the level of governance, which is closer to citizens and Mr Esteban visited our city to open a dialogue on how to start-up a resiliency framework for the city of Cluj-Napoca.

Speakers:

▪ Mr. Esteban Leon, Head of City Resilience Profiling Programme, United Nations UN-Habitat
▪ Ms. Anamaria Vrabie, Director of the Cluj-Napoca Urban Innovation Unit, Cluj Cultural Centre
▪ Mr. Dacian Dragoș, Director of Center for Good Governance, College of Political, Administrative and Communication Sciences, Babeș-Bolyai University

Moderator:
▪ Mr. Ovidiu Cîmpean, Director of Investments and Local Development, Cluj-Napoca Municipality

This event organized by Cluj Cultural Centre through its Cluj-Napoca Urban Innovation Unit program and Cluj-Napoca Municipality through its Centre for Innovation and Civic Imagination.

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Why would you hire a Interim Manager?

Interim management is the temporary delegation of an person with management expertise into another organisation. These persons will typically be experienced business leaders who are able to manage an organisation through a period of change or transformation, provide stability to a business following the sudden departure of a senior leader, or provide a highly specialised skill set which a business may not have internally.

An organisation may choose to pursue the interim management route because the role in question is not a permanent position or a permanent executive/manager cannot be found fast enough.

Interim managers are typically hired for three to nine months and help organisations who are undergoing major change, trying to implement a critical strategy or are looking to plug a critical management gap.

This is one fo the latest services organizations require and there are still few organizations who use it or offer it in Romania.

 Benefits of Hiring Interim Managers

  1. Speed
    Interim managers are available to start in days with minimum recruitment or termination formalities
  2. Experience
    Interim managers are typically overqualified for the role, meaning they can operate fully autonomously if necessary with little guidance
  3. Results
    Track record and performance really count, so interim managers are used to being judged by results so they know how to deliver
  4. Knowledge transfer
    With a wealth of experience comes skill, contacts and knowledge that will be transferred to your team and remain long after they have left
  5. Objectivity
    While sensitive to the company’s ethos, they will not be constrained by company politics, personalities or protocols. Having no previous history with your business means they can look at the situation objectively and with clarity.
  6. Delivery
    They can act as counsel to the Board while rolling up their sleeves to help deliver the strategy too.

What Are Interim Managers Used For?

Senior interim managers are typically highly experienced in a number of functions, and as a result are often adaptable to a range of situations. Typically interim managers are used:

  • As a temporary senior leader to plug an urgent gap
  • To lead a change or transformation project
  • To help reinforce an existing project team

To bring a specialised skill set into a project If you speak Spanish and want to know more, you can check-up this video:

 Entrevistas AIME: Alfonso Lucio Villegascongreso.interimspain.org24 de septiembre de 2018
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The biggest Romanian M&A transactions in 2018 – Business Review



The Romanian M&A market neared 2 billion euros in 2018, according to Deloitte Romania research, based on public sources and disclosed deal values. If estimates for deals whose value was not disclosed were factored in, Deloitte estimates that the Romanian M&A market was somewhere between 3.8 and 4.3 billion euros, slightly below the previous year.“We witnessed a slight diminution of M&A activity in 2018, after a very specific set of circumstances in 2017, namely a record number of deals between 100 and 500 million euros. Despite this slight YOY drop, the market remains at a robust level, as expected in a year of economic growth. The events of 2018 that represented a premiere were the two financing rounds obtained by UiPath, which attracted strong investment funds from around the world, thus becoming the first Romanian unicorn,” stated Ioana Filipescu, Corporate Finance Partner, Deloitte Romania.


In 2018, 14 deals with a disclosed or estimated value of at least 100 million euros were announced. In total, there were 96 deals observed by Deloitte in 2018. The average value of the disclosed ones was 50 million euros.

The largest deals of 2018 were:

– Vodafone’s acquisition of Liberty Global shares in Germany, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Romania (undisclosed value for Romania);

– the acquisition of Zentiva Group, including Zentiva SA Romania, former Sicomed, by Advent International (deal value estimated at 287 million euros, by applying the disclosed EBITDA multiple to the 2017 results of Zentiva SA);

– the sale of Agricost to Al Dahra group, the largest deal in Romanian agriculture (value of 200 million euros);

– the acquisition of The Bridge office building by the Paval brothers from Forte Partners
(deal value undisclosed);

– the acquisition of a 7.5% stake in UiPath by a consortium of investors led by Sequoia Capital; following this acquisition, the company’s valuation reached 2.6 billion euros (deal value of 194 million euros); it marks the second round of financing for UiPath in 2018, six months from the first one;

– the takeover of the Oregon Park office project in Barbu Vacarescu, Pipera area, by Lion’s Head Investment, which marks its first acquisition in Romania (undisclosed value); 

– the acquisition by the German group Phoenix of Farmexim distributor and Help Net network (undisclosed value);

The activity of private equity funds remained high in 2018, with 12 announced deals. Topping the charts was the acquisition of Zentiva (including the local player, Zentiva SA) by Advent International. The total value of private equity deals was of over 1.1 billion euros,
according to Deloitte estimates. “The interest of private equity for Romania has remained, given that Romanian businesses have continued to grow and the macroeconomic fundamentals have largely remained unchanged from the previous year,” added Ioana Filipescu.

In 2018, the Deloitte Romania Corporate Finance team assisted the owners of Farmexim/Help Net in the sale to Phoenix, assisted Oresa Ventures in the sale of Fabryo, the decorative coatings manufacturer, to AkzoNobel, as well as the sole shareholder of Animax
in the sale to TRG and the shareholders of IKB in the sale to BNP Paribas. Together with Deloitte UK and Reff & Associates, the Corporate Finance team assisted Chimcomplex SA Borzesti in their bid to secure funding for the financing required to acquire
the assets of Oltchim SA, in insolvency. As a result of this deal, Chimcomplex will become the largest chemicals manufacturer in Romania.

The Romanian M&A market, in 2018:


  • market value (disclosed deals value): 1.9 billion euros;
  • average value (disclosed deals value): 50 million euros;
  • market value (including Deloitte estimates of undisclosed deals): between 3.8 and 4.3 billion euros;
  • number of deals (including deals with undisclosed value): 96;
  • number of deals with a disclosed or estimated value of at least 100 million euros: 14.

 

Source:http://business-review.eu