Starman's acquisition of Cgates finalized - East Capital Explorer invests additional EUR 22.5 in Starman through rights issue


As announced on 22 December, East Capital Explorer's portfolio company Starman,
the leading cable TV and broadband internet service provider in Estonia, signed
an agreement to acquire 100 percent of Lithuanian Cgates for a total enterprise
value of EUR 56.3m. The transaction was completed on 12 February following
approval from the Lithuanian competition authority. In conjunction with the
transaction, East Capital Explorer has made an additional investment of EUR
22.5m in Starman through a share issue, thereby increasing the ownership from
51 to 63 percent.

- Starman is now our largest portfolio company, representing 24 percent of our
NAV. With the acquisition of Cgates, Starman will further strengthen its
position in the Baltic markets after having shown strong results and value
generation since our acquisition in May 2013. The add-on investment is yet
another step in our ambition to create a unique private equity and real estate
portfolio, says Mia Jurke, CEO of East Capital Explorer.

Cgates is Lithuania's leading cable TV and broadband internet services provider
based on hybrid fiber-coax network. Its network reaches more than 300,000 homes
in 12 cities across Lithuania. Cgates has 125,000 customers within pay-TV and
70,000 within internet. The company's revenues in 2014 amounted to EUR 14m, with
an expected EBITDA-margin of about 45 percent.

Starman is Estonia's leading cable TV and broadband provider with a cable
network covering 52 percent of households and a digital network (DTT) covering
97 percent of households. Starman's revenues in 2014 amounted to EUR 34m, with
an EBITDA-margin of 47 percent.

- Cgates is the best managed telecommunications company in Lithuania with a
strong market position, stable performance and good profitability. We look
forward to start working together with Cgates' strong management team already
today, to create the first truly pan-Baltic cable TV operator. The merger will
be step-wise where the first synergies we expect to realize are within joint
purchasing of equipment and content, as well as within product development.
System and platform utilization are other areas where we expect to generate
synergies, says Gert Tiivas, chairman of Starman and Head of Private Equity in
the Baltics, East Capital.

The fair value of East Capital Explorer's holding in Starman before the add-on
investment was EUR 39.5m. The transaction is financed through divestment of
holdings in East Capital Frontier Markets Fund and East Capital Russia Domestic
Growth Fund.


Contact information

Mia Jurke, CEO, East Capital Explorer, +46 8 505 885 32
Lena Krauss, CFO and Head of Investor Relations, East Capital Explorer,
+46 73 988 44 66

Financial reporting calendar

  * Annual Report 2014 available in March 2015
  * Annual General Meeting 2015 - 21 Apr 2015
  * Interim Report, Q1 2015 - 13 May 2015
  * Interim Report, Q2 2015 - 20 Aug 2015
  * Interim Report, Q3 2015 - 5 Nov 2015

About East Capital Explorer

East Capital Explorer AB (publ) is a Swedish investment company, created with
the specific aim of bringing unique investment opportunities in Eastern Europe
to a broader investor base. The company makes direct investments into private
and public companies but investments are also made through East Capital's
private equity, real estate and alternative investment funds. East Capital
Explorer's main investment theme is domestic growth and the Company targets fast
growing sectors such as Retail and Consumer goods, Financials and Real Estate.
East Capital Explorer has appointed East Capital to manage its investment
activities. East Capital Explorer is listed on NASDAQ OMX Stockholm, Mid Cap.

  Listing: NASDAQ OMX Stockholm, Mid Cap - Ticker: ECEX - ISIN: SE0002158568 -
                  Reuters: ECEX.ST - Bloomberg: ECEX SS Equity


This information is disclosed in accordance with the Securities Markets Act, the
Financial Instruments Trading Act and demands made in the exchange rules. It was
released for publication at 07:00 a.m. CET on 13 February 2015.

[HUG#1894314]

Attachments

150213 - Press Release.pdf