C ontaq Latvian Cable and ARGUS Capital Group acquired Latvian cable television company IZZI SIA / Tella Capital Limited for €20 million in junior capital provided by the Syntaxis Mezzanine Fund. One-hundred percent of Tella Capital’s shares were purchased. Klavins & Slaidins in Riga and Macfarlanes in London both served as advisors to Syntaxis Capital in what is the company’s fifth investment to-date.
IZZI SIA (www.izzi.lv)
IZZI SIA provides a variety of communication services – including digital and cable TV, wireless and cable internet, and mobile and fixed telephony – to 112,000 households/families in over 30 populated areas in Latvia as well as to Rezekne, Valdlauci, Kuldiga, Ludza, Riga, Adazi, and Aizkraukle. IZZI employs more than 170 professionals, with approximately 100 of them providing client services. IZZI expects to generate approximately €12 million of revenues in 2008.
Contaq Consulting GmbH (www.contaq-con.de)
German-based Contaq was established in 2003 and focuses on telecommunication and cable.
Argus Capital Group (www.arguscapitalgroup.com)
Founded in 1998 and jointly owned by the firm’s partners, Argus currently employs 10 professionals in offices throughout Central and Eastern Europe, including offices in Warsaw, Budapest, London, and Prague. ARGUS has created partnerships and relationships with local and international financial institutions and investee companies. Through ARGUS’s two funds – which total more than €400 million – the private equity firm has invested in 11 companies since the firm’s inception.
Syntaxis Capital (www.syntaxis-capital.com)
Syntaxis Capital, a dedicated junior capital partner that finances private mid-market companies in Central and Eastern Europe, established Syntaxis Mezzanine Fund in July 2007. The relatively new fund’s goals include providing capital in buy-outs, as well as to growing companies for financial activities such as expansion, acquisitions, and recapitalizations. The aggregate value of the junior capital firm’s five investments currently totals more than €670 million.
