About Us

Based in Budapest, Stark Capital Zrt. is an independent consulting firm focusing on M&A and corporate finance advisory. Founded by its CEO Dr. János Erős with the aim of creating a one-stop-shop for M&A advisory in Hungary, today the firm is engaged with a diverse group of companies across industries. Stark Capital’s staff is supported by a network of independent experts drawn from a wide range of industries and contracted on a case-by-case basis.

Whether you are looking for interim managers for a distressed asset, advisory on partial or complete divestments, carve-outs or spin-offs, Stark Capital would be pleased to assist you in your venture.









Successfully closed M&A deals

Track Record

Selected assignments from the past five years:

  • Acquisition, turnaround management and subsequent sale of domestically owned Hungarian mortgage- and credit institution to financial investor.
  • Acquisition, restructuring (including asset stripping) and sale of Hungary’s leading public warehouse company to strategic buyer.
  • Financial due-diligence of Austrian depositary institutions on behalf of prospective strategic investors.
  • Strategic advisory on the restructuring of market-leading Hungarian agricultural machinery wholesale company.
  • Evaluating the delisting of a small cap oil&gas company.
  • Acting as exclusive transaction advisor for Hungarian agricultural integrator firm in multiple acquisitions.
  • Advisory on book buiding for boutique German investment bank.

 





Who We Are

dr. Csaba Bató

erosAn economist and jurist by training, Mr. Bató held several senior management positions in the asset management and investment/VC fund management industry (MFB-Hungarian Developement Bank, MKB- Hungarian Foreign Trade Bank, Erste Bank Hungary) before turning his focus on M&A and corporate finance advisory.

In his role as CEO of MFB Invest/CoB of Corvinus, he oversaw a portfolio of 60 companies and played an instrumental role in the turnaround management, restructuring and subsequent sale of assets across industries on the secondary market. Since his departure from MFB Invest, Mr. Bató participated in and supported several complex private equity deals and served on the board of portfolio companies.

Mr. Bató holds LLM and dr. jur. degrees from the Eötvös Loránd University of Sciences and an MA in economics from Szent Istvan University.

batocs@starkcapital.hu

 

Dr. János Erős

erosAn economist and banking expert with thirty-five years of professional experience in the financial industry, Mr. Erős played a pivotal role in the modernization of the Hungarian commercial banking sector. Having spent over a decade as CEO of major Hungarian banks (K&H Bank, ÁÉB) and eight years as chief executive of the Hungarian Development Bank (HDB) he is intimately familiar with the origination of syndicated loans and the debt- and equity financing of large projects of strategic importance. As recognition of his efforts in transforming HDB to an EU-conform, state-owned financial institution, he had the privilege to serve as the president of the European Association of Public Banks from 2005 until his departure from MFB at 2010. Dr. Erős founded Stark Capital Zrt. in 2014 with the aim to support the emerging M&A scene in Central Europe. Dr. Erős holds a doctorate in economics from the University of Pecs and undergraduate and graduate degrees from Webster University and Budapest Corvinus University, respectively.

eros.janos@starkcapital.hu

 

Lajos Csenkey

Mr. Csenkey serves as CFO of Stark Capital Zrt. He is responsible for capital budgeting and financing decisions within the firm and supports the consulting business with regards to advisory relating to debt issuance, underwriting and equity financing. Before joining Stark Capital Zrt., Mr. Csenkey served as senior loan officer at OTP Bank and subsequently as CIO of MFB Invest. Mr. Csenkey holds an MA in economics from the University of Pecs and is a certified internal auditor.

csenkeyl@starkcapital.hu

 

Bálint Sarkadi

Mr. Sarkadi joined Stark Capital Zrt. in 2015 as an analyst responsible for project evaluation and the drafting of investment prospectuses & term sheets. Since 2019 he has been serving as managing director at the firm and as CEO of one of its subsidiaries. Today he is also spearheading Stark Capital’s expansion into the alternative investment fund management business with a focus on equity- and mezzanine financing solutions to Hungarian SMEs. Mr. Sarkadi graduated from Budapest Corvinus University with a degree in international economics.

balint.sarkadi@starkcapital.hu