Elana is the leading non-banking financial services group in Bulgaria.
Elana Financial Group provides a wide range of services in the fields of asset management, stock brokerage, investment banking, corporate finances, and forex trading. The groups clients include government ministries, municipalities, corporations, public and private institutions, and sophisticated individual investors.
Since Elanas founding in 1991, the company has pioneered the use of many modern financial tools in Bulgaria where it is a leader in asset management, trading, and investment banking. Its growth has paralleled the expansion of the transition economy.
Originally, Elana started as a brokerage service. To keep pace with the rapid development of the Bulgarian economy and satisfy the needs of a diverse clientele, the company expanded its scope by adding asset management, corporate finance, investment banking, and consulting services. Today, Elanas activities are carried out by three individually incorporated subsidiaries which are all majority owned by Elana Holding Inc.
And the history:
1991 Elana is incorporated as a financial company.
1993 Elana becomes a member of the newly established Sofia Stock Exchange.
1995 Bulgarian National Bank licenses Elana as a financial brokerage company.
1996 Central European Magazine names Elana as the best broker in Bulgaria.
1997 ELANA is among the first investment intermediaries to be licensed by the State Securities Commission (now known as the Financial Supervision Commission) as a Brokerage Dealer.
The Central Bank and the Ministry of Finance license Elana as a primary dealer of Bulgarian Government securities as well as a dealer in international currency markets.
ELANA is lead manager of the first IPO of a Bulgarian company on the Bulgarian Stock Exchange.
1998 US stock brokerage Auerbach Grayson (www.agco.com) selects Elana as its exclusive Bulgarian partner.
1999 The State Securities Commission licenses Elana to trade securities and derivatives in the international financial markets.
ELANA manages the first hostile takeover in Bulgaria.
2000 The biggest Bulgarian corporate bond issue to date is co-managed and underwritten by Elana.
2001 Together with the Spanish consultant IDOM, Elana completes the restructuring of more than 40 private Bulgarian companies as a part of the PHARE Strategic Restructuring and Financial Advisory Services Project.
Elana issues the first Bulgarian Depository Receipt (BDR) as a new Bulgarian financial instrument (derivatives) based on structured products.
Elana is the placement agent for Bulgarias first mortgage bond issue.
Elana receives a mandate for restructuring the operations and assets of Bulgarias second-largest copper mine.
2002 Elana set up Bulgarias first mutual fund - Elana Eurofund and the countrys first asset management firm - Elana Fund Management.
Elana begins consulting on projects for the EUs Special Accession Program for Agricultural and Rural Development (SAPARD).
Elana launches an internet-based trading platform with direct access to local and international forex, securities, and derivatives markets.
Elana receives a joint EBRD and IFC mandate to restructure the debt of Cellhart - a leading paper products manufacturer in Bulgaria.
2003 A project for debt restructuring of Bulgarias biggest canned and frozen food factory, Storko was implemented successfully. The project was assigned to Elana by the factorys only pledged creditor - the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). Elana Investment restructured all activities, organised an auction of Storkos non-core assets, and sold the enterprise to a strategic buyer.
The United States Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) awarded Elana a contract to prepare a feasibility study for the establishment of a mortgage funding vehicle for South East Europe. The estimated project value stood at 100 million euro.
Elana was co-manager of the largest corporate bond issue in Bulgaria worth $32 million.
2004 Elana strengthens its positions as a leading consultant on projects that need funding from EUs pre-accession SAPARD programme. The company advised projects exceeding 15 million euro.
Elana launched ELANATrader v2.0 - an Internet-based forex trading platform.
2005 In December, Elana Fund Management launched Elana Balanced Euro Fund. Elana Balanced Euro Fund, which inherited the traditions of Elana Balanced Euro Portfolio, has a balanced risk profile and invests in equities traded on the Bulgarian Stock Exchange, as well as in Bulgarian government securities, corporate, mortgage and municipal bonds. The fund is expected to produce an annual yield of between 12 per cent and 15 per cent for 2006.
In November, Elana became a shareholder in the newly-established local ratings agency, Global Ratings, with a 40 per cent stake. The agency will assign independent national and international credit ratings to Bulgarian companies and municipalities.
Elana Holding, in cooperation with Canadian energy consultancy Econoler International and Bulgarian NGO Center for Energy Efficiency EnEffect, won a tender for the management of the Bulgarian Energy Efficiency fund The Financial Supervision Commission awarded an operating licence to Elana High Yield Fund, Elanas second mutual fund. The fund was launched on the Bulgarian Stock Exchange-Sofia on June 20.
Elana Trading structured and placed three mortgage bond issues - two for Investbank and one for Teximbank; the company was also lead manager of a bond issue for Shumen municipality; it was co-manager of a bond issue for Leasing Company. The total value of the bond issues placed by Elana Trading during the year was 42 million euro.
Elana established the first Bulgarian fund for investments in arable land: Elana Agricultural Land Opportunity Fund.
2006 Elana Trading became a leader in the investment banking sector in Bulgaria. For the period from January to August the company placed several corporate bond issues of a total par value of more than 220 million euro, and made an IPO for 25 million euro. Elana Trading was lead manager of the two biggest bond issues on the Bulgarian market so far.
At the end of June 2006, Elana Agricultural Land Opportunity Fund (EALOF) raised 25.5 million euro in its third share capital increase, bringing the total funds raised by EALOF up to EUR 37.4 million. The capital hike attracted huge interest from a number of both foreign and local investors. In July, renowned institutional investors held 75 per cent in EALOF. The fund was the biggest real estate investment trust in Bulgaria at the end of H1, according to data from the state Financial Supervision Commission.
In March, Elana Fund Management launched Elana Balanced $ Fund - the first Bulgarian mutual fund denominated in US dollars. Elana Balanced $ Fund, which inherited the traditions of Elana Balanced $ Portfolio, has a balanced risk profile and invests in equities traded on the Bulgarian Stock Exchange, as well as in Bulgarian government securities, corporate, mortgage and municipal bonds. The fund is expected to produce an annual yield of between 12 per cent and 15 per cent for 2006.
On February 16, 2006, Elana Financial Group received the Financial Product of 2006 award at the Banks Investments Money international financial forum. The prize was awarded to Vanya Vasileva, executive director of Elana Holding, by Bulgarias Finance Minister Plamen Oresharski.
