Baring Vostok closes at $205 million

Baring Vostok Private Equity Fund (Baring Vostok), a subsidiary of Baring Private Equity Partners, has exceeded its original target amount of between $150 million and $200 million and has announced a final close at $205 million. The fund achieved a first close a year ago at $102 million see evcj March 2001, page 16.

The investment vehicle is believed to be the first direct investment fund raised in Russia since 1998 and is targeting deals primarily in Russia and the Ukraine. Average investment size is between $3 million and $15 million, focusing on core industry sectors such as oil and gas, telecommunications, forestry, consumer products and information technology.

Four senior partners are leading Baring Vostok’s investment team Michael Calvey, Jean Michel Broun, Andrei Terekhov and Alexei Kalinin. Each of the partners is experienced in managing private equity investments in the region, including management of the first NIS Regional Fund (NIS Fund). NIS Fund is a direct investment fund that was launched in 1994 with $160 million for investment.

Baring Vostok has already made 12 investments including Burren Energy, a leading independent oil company in the Caspian sea region, Golden Telecom, a provider of integrated telecom and data services to businesses and telecommunications operators throughout Russia and ruNet Holdings, a Russian IT services company.