Tascom Stake Sold By CapMan Russia’s Norum II Fund, Latter’s Complete Exit Imminent

The CapMan Russia-advised Norum II Fund has closed a sale on 100 percent stake in Tascom, a telecom service provider, to Mobile TeleSystems, Russia and the CIS’s top provider. The stake was bought by Mobile TeleSystems’ subsidiary, Moscow City Telephone Network. The sale marks CapMan Russia’s exit from Tascom eight years after the original investment was made via Bester Investments, in 2004. After the sale amount is distributed, it will account for a 4.5x gross return on the original investment. The final exit of Bester is still on the cards, and is expected to successfully go through after the sale of its stake in Gars Telecom. When that happens, it will complete the exit of the Norum II Fund, but will not impact numbers for the CapMan Group.

Tascom (www.tascom.ru)

Tascom is a leading telecom service provider in Russia and the CIS. The company offers a vast selection of specialized telecom services to the corporate sector; its range includes virtual private networks (VPNs), WiFi access, broadband internet and local as well as long-distance carriage services. Tascom owns and operates an extensive 1,100-km fibre optic network in Russia that services 50 towns within the Moscow region. They also own a wireless network compliant with the pre-WiMax technology standard. Founded in 1996, Tascom has many accolades under its belt, including being the largest operator of paging services in Russia in the late 90s, providing connectivity to over 60 cities. In 2006, they also gained recognition as the largest operator of wireless radio services in and around Moscow.