Private equity fund CapMan Russia announced last week that it has made its first investment ever in a telecom asset. The CapMan fund bought a 20% stake in Siberian Networks, one of the leading ISPs in Western Siberia, and the fund plans to raise its share to a blocking stake in the coming months.
The parties did not disclose the amount of the deal, but Maxim Popov, the fund’s investment director, said CapMan typically offers $15-20 million for stakes in target companies.
Established in 2004, Siberian Networks is today the third largest player in Novosibirsk with an approximately 20% market share, and the leader in Novokuznetsk with a 25% market share. Siberian Networks provides triple-play services including high-speed Internet and IPTV to more than 100,000 residential and business subscribers in nine cities across Western Siberia. The company expects to generate $20 million in revenues in 2011.
Siberian Networks and CapMan Russia have vast appetites for further development. By 2015, the two partners expect to put in $54 million both in their own and borrowed funds for company development. By that year, according to their plans, Siberian Networks will serve 500,000 subscribers, while the company’s revenues are expected to reach 2 billion rubles, or $69 million.
CapMan Russia is a member of the CapMan family of funds, which manage assets of a total investment value of €3.4 billion in Russia and the Nordic countries.
