Aurora Russia Limited
27 July 2007
27 July 2007
Aurora Russia Limited completes second stage of investment in Unistream Bank
Aurora Russia Limited ('Aurora Russia' or the 'Company'), the AIM-quoted
investment vehicle established to make equity or equity-related investments in
small and mid-sized private companies in Russia, announces today that it has
completed the second stage of its investment in Unistream Bank ('Unistream').
This brings the Company's total shareholding in Unistream to 26%.
Aurora Russia initially invested $13.6 million (£6.9 million) for a 17.7% stake,
which was announced in April 2007. Having just received approval from the
Central Bank of Russia to take a stake of over 20% in Unistream, Aurora Russia
has purchased an additional 8.3% stake for $6.4 million (£3.1 million).
Management accounts show that $1.85 billion was transferred through Unistream in
2006 making it one of the leading money transfer companies in Russia. Management
have also stated that by June 2007 its monthly volumes had reached $300 million,
representing approximately a 90% increase over the same period in 2006.
James Cook and John McRoberts, two Directors of Aurora Russia Limited,commented:
'We have been delighted with the investment in Unistream to date and are pleased
to have secured this increased holding. The Russian money transfer market
continues to show extremely high rates of growth and is one of the fastest
growing money transfer regions in the world. '
Enquiries
Aurora Russia Limited
James Cook, Moscow +7 495 644 1662
John McRoberts, London +44 (0) 20 7839 7112
Investec Investment Banking
Rupert Krefting +44 (0) 20 7597 5133
Paul Gray +44 (0) 20 7597 5176
Financial Dynamics
Ed Gascoigne-Pees +44 (0) 20 7269 7132
Felicity Murdoch +44 (0) 20 7269 7243
Notes to editors:
Aurora Russia
Aurora Russia floated on the Alternative Investment Market of the London Stock
Exchange on 24 March 2006. The Company has been established to make equity or
equity related investments in small and midsized private Russian companies
focused on the financial, business and consumer services sectors where the
Directors believe there is potential for growth together with viable exit
opportunities within two to four years of making such investments. The Company
intends to provide its investee companies with the necessary capital to continue
to expand and develop. The Manager shall provide hands-on operational support to
deliver significant step changes in performance and value creation.
Aurora Russia targets companies with Enterprise Values of up to approximately
£100 million and seeks to secure blocking or controlling stakes and board
representation. The Company intends generally to take equity stakes of greater
than 20% in each portfolio company. It is anticipated that each equity
investment will typically be between £5 million and £25 million.
About Unistream
Unistream Bank is an international money transfer network with considerable
market share in Russia and CIS countries.
Management information shows that with approximately 800,000 clients served in
2006, Unistream transferred over $1.85 billion in 2006, up from $750 million in
2005. In the first and the second quarters of 2007, remittance volumes exceeded
$495 million and $792 million respectively. Unistream operates through 46,000
points of service in 85 countries across the world. In the countries of the
former Soviet Union, Unistream handles around 25% of the cross-border remittance
market, delivering its service at over 150 proprietary dedicated branches and
over 7,000 agencies throughout the CIS.
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
FID
*A Private Investor is a recipient of the information who meets all of the conditions set out below, the recipient:
Obtains access to the information in a personal capacity;
Is not required to be regulated or supervised by a body concerned with the regulation or supervision of investment or financial services;
Is not currently registered or qualified as a professional securities trader or investment adviser with any national or state exchange, regulatory authority, professional association or recognised professional body;
Does not currently act in any capacity as an investment adviser, whether or not they have at some time been qualified to do so;
Uses the information solely in relation to the management of their personal funds and not as a trader to the public or for the investment of corporate funds;
Does not distribute, republish or otherwise provide any information or derived works to any third party in any manner or use or process information or derived works for any commercial purposes.
Please note, this site uses cookies. Some of the cookies are essential for parts of the site to operate and have already been set. You may delete and block all cookies from this site, but if you do, parts of the site may not work. To find out more about the cookies used on Investegate and how you can manage them, see our Privacy and Cookie Policy
To continue using Investegate, please confirm that you are a private investor as well as agreeing to our Privacy and Cookie Policy & Terms.