Group of investors buy 7% stake in BitDefender

Romanian company BitDefender has sold part of its shares to a group of investors for 7 million US dollars, investors representative Horia Manda said on on Thursday. According to Manda, the value of the company is evaluated at 100 million dollars, meaning that the stake sold a little less than 7% of its shares.

BitDefender solutions include antivirus models, firewalls, antispyware, antispam and parental control options. According to the company website, BitDefender options are used by some 41 million clients in 180 countries.

The investment was made by seven private Romanian and US investors, including managers of two investment funds, the Romanian – American Enterprise Fund (RAEF) si Balkan Accesion Fund (BAF).

BitDefender chief executive Florin Talpes said the company was at the beginning of a new phase and investors were expecting the company value to rise.

Talpes said investors would support the company for a possible listing on a stock exchange in Romania, Europe or the United States. He said they would have a clear idea whether to float, when to float and what bourse to use by mid-2008.