Baring Communications Equity

Press

admin — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 08:22:16 +0000

11 Aug 06	Karneval Media is acquired by UPC	UPC


31 May 05	TIW is acquired by Vodafone	Mobifon


15 Sep 04	ROMGSM (owner of Mobifon) sells its stake to TIW	Mobifon


10 Aug 04	3C Announces completion of share placing	3C


09 Jun 04	Connex has 4 million subscribers	Mobifon


20 Nov 03	Acquisition of NDNT by 3C	DirectNet


29 Jan 03	Centrum definitivne predstihlo Atlas by Mirek Zeman	Lupa


17 Jan 03	Merger of Tes Media with Intercable CZ	TES Media


20 Nov 02	Romanian GSM operator Connex reports 2.5 customers in Romania	Mobifon


27 Mar 01	New Satellite Operator, NewSat Launched	SATNEWS


Oct 00	Venture Capital in the Czech Republic by Brian Wardrop	Czech Republic Business Guide


18 Oct 00	Rozkrecona Machina by Karolina Prewecka	Media i Marketing, No 20


18 Sep 00	Machina Press excerpt by Anna Kocinska	Warsaw Business Journal
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04 Sep 00	NetCentrum	Prague Business Journal
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17 Jul 00	Local Internet consultancies building on one-stop shopping approach by Kip Bauersfeld	Prague Business Journal
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03 Jul 00	Web consultant attracts $2.4 mln by Kip Bauersfeld	Prague Business Journal
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22 May 00	Intel, Baring fund buy into NetCentrum by Kip Bauersfeld	Prague Business Journal
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15 May 00	Report on public media by Anna Kocinska	Warsaw Business Journal
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17 Apr 00	New entrants underscore demand for low-frequency telecoms by Kip Bauersfeld	Prague Business Journal
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20 Mar 00	Ce Com venture stirs CEE phone market by Kip Bauersfeld and Hana Lesenarova	Prague Business Journal
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00 Oct 99	Communications Investing in Europe by Brian Wardrop	Venture Capital Report

Investment Strategy

admin — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 08:16:56 +0000

Media Target Industries
Industry	Opportunities
Broadcasting	Television and radio broadcasting via cable, satellite, and terrestrial distribution.
Multi-channel television	Conventional cable or wireless systems capable of delivering combined telephony, television signals, and computer data.
Content	Program production, libraries and rights.
Publishing	Special interest and business-to-business magazines, directories, books, and databases traditionally or electronically published, including on-line business information services.
Out-of-home media	Outdoor & transit, including electronic billboards & cinema.
Video & multimedia	Interactive entertainment, education and Internet-related services

Communications Target Industries
Industry	Opportunities
Mobile telephony	Network service providers and related value-added services.
Data services	Terrestrial and satellite-delivered including related value-added services.
Infrastructure	Provision of infrastructure for various telecom users, including fibre-optic, satellite, towers, etc.
Wired & wireless telephony	Provision of local loop services and value-added services.
Internet	Provision of access networks and related services (i.e. web-enabling software and services, ISP’s, e-commerce, etc.) and Internet-specific software applications.
Web hosting and design	Remote hosting of applications for specific users or broadband service offerings to a wider audience. Full service provision of Internet solutions for businesses comprising evaluation, design, implementation, support, & service.

Investment Opportunity

admin — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 10:35:24 +0000

For submission of investment opportunities to BCEE for its consideration, contact any one of the offices. Ideally, entrepreneurs and companies seeking equity funding should prepare a summary of the investment opportunity or a business plan. This plan should include information about the current position of the company in its market, description of its product or service offering, funding requirements and purposes, management team, and historical and prospective financial performance.

For more information about writing a business plan, please visit the following sites:
Business and Marketing Plans
US Small Business Administration

Heather Potters

admin — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 10:33:00 +0000

Heather has been making private equity investments in Central and Eastern Europe, starting in Poland, since early 1991. This experience started as a Partner and Vice-President at Enterprise Investors, the investment adviser to the Polish American Enterprise Fund and Polish Private Equity funds that together account for $351 million of investment capital.

Together with Markus Pedriks, she created the first focused regional investment fund for the CEE region, in 1997, called Baring Communications Equity (Emerging Europe) Ltd. Including investments within the fund, or as an active angel investor leading independent investments for third party investors, her investment background includes all aspects of direct investment and portfolio management including: privatization, strategic partner search, direct investment with local entrepreneurs, business collaborations, M&A, licensing of intellectual property and other assets, and public offerings.

Investments managed or led by Ms. Potters have touched more than 15 jurisdictions around the world, including active board positions within public and privately held companies, in a variety of industries including manufacturing, IT, service, media, communications, internet, real estate, and medical device activities. Heather holds an MBA from The Wharton School, and a BA in International Management

Markus Pedriks

admin — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 10:32:27 +0000

Markus has 12 years of telecommunications and media-company operating experience, in Western and Eastern Europe. Prior to its sale to Tele2 in 1999, he was non-executive Chairman of Levicom, the largest private telecommunications and media company in the Baltic Republics. Levicom is active in the areas of cable television, fixed and mobile telephony, ISP, e-commerce and web consulting/services. Previously, Markus was Director of Sales and Marketing at Unisource Mobile, the consortium of AT&T and the Dutch, Spanish, Swedish and Swiss Telecom operators. Prior to Unisource, he was General Manager of Aircall’s (UK) satellite and terrestrial data-broadcasting unit and was involved in sales and marketing for their paging and cellular businesses. He holds an MBA from IMD in Lausanne, and a BA in Economics from McGill University in Montreal, and is a Canadian and Estonian national.

Current Investment Portfolio

admin — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 10:30:49 +0000

Industry Investment Areas

admin — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 10:29:08 +0000

Coming Soon

Investment Philosophy

admin — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 17:50:56 +0000

BCEE aims to “co-invest” with management teams and entrepreneurs who are like-minded in philosophy and approach. Like the changing markets, companies will encounter amazing challenges and opportunities that require a flexible and honest approach to confronting their issues. While decisions are sometimes not easy, BCEE shares in the responsibility and repercussions. Typically, incentive share option programs are put in place to help provide an incentive and reward for a company’s management team so that when a positive benefit is created, all parties may share it. However, this approach is always balanced to ensure that risk is borne by all concerned.

BCEE wants to invest in companies that not only have a great management team with a proven track record of industry experience, but also enjoy a distinct competitive advantage or unique position within their market segment. While BCEE does invest in start-up ventures, the market opportunity must be unique, and the plan must be sponsored by an entrepreneur or management team with a solid track record in the industry and ability to invest meaningful capital alongside BCEE.

BCEE’s investment horizon, from the first infusion of capital into a portfolio company to sale of its ownership, likely spans three to four years. During the investment period, members of the Executive Team actively participate at the supervisory board level of the portfolio company, assisting the management with the making of critical decisions that affect the performance and development of the business. In addition, assistance in creating proper information and reporting systems is provided, in an effort to help managers and shareholders better understand how to guide and stimulate growth and more intelligently compete in increasingly more sophisticated markets. Reinvestment of profitability to support more rapid growth of a business is an important element of BCEE’s philosophy.