Bento closed successfully and anticipated the first hybrid system private placement and prepares for listing on the stock exchange in the first part of 2022
Bucharest, 26 November 2021: Bento – Intellectually Curious (BVB: BENTO), a Romanian entrepreneurial company specializing in developing and implementing software solutions and delivering IT and Cloud infrastructure services, announces the successful closing, on the first day, of the private placement for its shares and raising the amount of 5.6 million lei from investors, capital that will fuel the accelerated development of the company. As a result of oversubscribing the initial offer by over 120%, the offer was supplemented from 400,000 shares to almost 900,000 shares, the total amounts subscribed exceeding 13 million lei.
“Today marks an important chapter in the history of our company, and we thank investors for their trust. When Radu and I started this journey almost 17 years ago, all we wanted was to pursue our passion for IT and develop software applications that would improve the lives of our clients. Today, Bento is a company with over 70 employees, with substantial expertise in software development and implementation and IT systems integration, with its own intellectual property, collaborating with organizations of all sizes in Romania, Switzerland, and the USA. The access to the capital market allows us to accelerate the company’s development and further expand our international presence. In the medium and long term, we consider consolidating our own software products, such as Bento Field Service Management and Bento Mobile Device Management, and developing new marketing and sales channels dedicated to promoting and contracting projects related to these products globally,” stated Vlad Bodea, co-founder and member of the Board of Directors of Bento.
Bento has over 17 years of experience developing and implementing software solutions and providing IT and cloud infrastructure services for companies in multiple industries, such as energy, FMCG, utilities, telecommunications, healthcare, agriculture, IT, media, and the food industry distribution, transport, and services. Currently, the company has over 70 employees and a diversified portfolio of multinational companies from Romania, the USA, and Switzerland. Bento also partners with reputable vendors such as Microsoft, HPE, and CISCO.
More than 100 investors participated in the private placement that took place on November 25th, 2021, at a price per share of 14 lei. The company’s shares will float on the AeRO market of the Bucharest Stock Exchange at the beginning of next year. The private placement was brokered by TradeVille, while Cornerstone Communications assisted the company as an Authorized Advisor. In terms of legal matters, Bento was assisted by the law firm Dentons and the law office Alina Alexe.
“Bento is a company that has developed organically and in recent years has recorded significant financial results amid business optimization processes, but also due to the accelerated growth of the IT&C and Software sector both nationally and internationally. Over the years, we have constantly invested in the development of our own products and the quality of our services, leading to a substantial expansion of the client portfolio and revenues. We are happy with the successful closing of the private placement. At the same time, it motivates us as our goal is to provide the best returns to the investors who joined us,” stated Radu Scarlat, Chairman of the Bento Board of Directors Bento.
Bento is managed by the Board of Directors that consists of three elected members with a two-year term: Radu Scarlat (chairman), Vlad Bodea (member), and Claudiu Negrișan (non-executive member) manager with extensive experience in strategy, management consulting, finance and investment.
“TradeVille ends November with a premiere for the Romanian capital market: the first private placement carried out in a hybrid system through which the company sold both new and existing shares. Moreover, we do this together with an innovative issuer, which provides software solutions for companies with a large territorial footprint, agriculture, and energy – sectors that are now in the spotlight,” stated Ovidiu-George Dumitrescu, CFA, Deputy General Director within TradeVille, the broker that brokered the Bento private placement.
The capital infusion from the private placement will be used to accelerate the company’s development vertically and horizontally by expanding the client portfolio and consolidating its own products. Bento also plans to develop sales and marketing channels to promote these software products in the Eastern European and Balkan region by establishing partnerships with local companies in the targeted markets.
“We are delighted with the success of this private placement and to see a new IT company that will list its shares on the Bucharest Stock Exchange. 2021 can be declared the year of IT at the Bucharest Stock Exchange considering the significant number of companies in this sector that came to BVB. We wish Vlad and Radu much success. They show us that the journey to a successful Romanian entrepreneurial story can start right from the faculty benches,” stated Zuzanna Kurek, founder of Cornerstone Communications, Authorized Advisor of Bento.
In 2020, Bento recorded a turnover of 15.3 million lei and a net profit of 1.9 million lei. In the first six months of 2021, Bento reported revenues of 12.6 million lei, a record increase of 99% compared to the same period last year. The company estimates a turnover of 26.3 million lei for the entire year 2021 and a net profit of 4.6 million lei.
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About Bento – Intellectually Curious
Bento – Intellectually Curious is a Romanian entrepreneurial company specializing in developing software solutions and the delivery of IT and Cloud infrastructure services. With over 15 years of experience, Bento has developed and implemented software solutions applicable in multiple industries for multinational companies in Romania, the USA, and Switzerland. The company has complementary teams of project management, analysis, prototyping, development, testing, implementation, integration, and maintenance that can transform ideas, concepts, and needs into software products tailored to the requirements of each client. Capitalizing on the experience gained in optimizing and digitizing operational processes, the company has developed its software products, such as Mobile Device Management, Field Service Management, and Smart Metering solutions, used mainly by companies active in energy and utilities. Bento is also a recognized regional partner for reputable vendors such as Microsoft, HPE, and CISCO.
Despre TradeVille
TradeVille is a broker with over 26 years of experience on the Romanian capital market and offers retail clients easy and fast access to financial instruments listed on the Bucharest Stock Exchange and major international stock exchanges. In 2020, TradeVille brokered more than 50% of its primary private placement sales of corporate shares and bonds, with a 100% success rate, for companies in various industries. In 2021, TradeVille received the most trophies from the Bucharest Stock Exchange at the stock market performance award ceremony: The 2020 participant in the retail segment and the Intermediary of entrepreneurial companies at BVB in the 2020 bond segment.
About Cornerstone Communications
Cornerstone Communications is a boutique firm based in Bucharest, specialized in investor relations and capital market advisory. The company provides integrated communication and advisory services to companies that are already listed on the Bucharest Stock Exchange, as well as to entrepreneurial businesses that want to raise financing through the Romanian capital market. Cornerstone Communications is also an Authorized Advisor for BVB’s AeRO market.