The transaction is subject to regulatory approval by the Polish competition authorities, and is expected to close in the first half of 2011.  The transaction values the business at PLN2.4 billion (€600 million) and allows the Aster investors to approximately double their initial investment.

Matthew Strassberg who has led Mid Europa’s investment in Aster commented: “Since acquiring Aster in 2006, we have enjoyed partnering with its strong management team in solidifying Aster’s premium market position based on strong customer focus and product innovation. Under our ownership, Aster has invested over €80 million in its network and has increased the number of revenue generating units (RGUs) by 85% while at the same time increasing its profitability by nearly 80%. Aster has been the first pay-TV operator in Poland to introduce IP telephony, Digital TV, High-Definition, Video-on-Demand, and more recently, mobile telephony and data transmission services. This transaction validates Aster’s unique strategic value in the Polish pay-TV and telecommunications landscape.”

Zbigniew Rekusz, who heads Mid Europa’s Warsaw office, and together with Matthew Strassberg co-leads the Polish deal origination, noted: “Aster is very representative of Mid Europa’s approach to investing: we build long-term value by partnering with top management teams of industry-leading enterprises and provide hands-on support as they seek to grow their businesses both organically and through acquisitions.  We actively seek to deploy this successful formula in other sectors in Poland.”

Michelle Capiod, who has been involved in Aster throughout its investment cycle, led the negotiations and the execution of the transaction with the support of Andrej Babace.

Credit Suisse acted as exclusive financial adviser to Mid Europa and Linklaters as its legal counsel on the transaction. Price Waterhouse Coopers, Linklaters and Solon Management Consulting provided financial & tax, legal and commercial & technical vendor due diligence.

For further information please contact:

Mid Europa Partners: 
Matthew Strassberg or Michelle Capiod
+44 (0) 20 7886 3600

Aster:
John Arciszewski
+48 (0) 22 411 5003

Citigate:
David Westover/Agnès Riousse
+44 (0) 20 7638 9571

Notes to the editors:

ABOUT MID EUROPA PARTNERS

Mid Europa Partners is a leading independent private equity firm focused on Central and Eastern Europe. Operating from London, Budapest and Warsaw. Mid Europa Partners advises and manages funds with asset value of approximately €3.2 billion. The Mid Europa Partners team has been investing in Central and Eastern Europe since 1999.

ABOUT ASTER

Aster is the fourth largest CATV operator in Poland. The company is an innovative market leader, and was the first CATV operator in Poland to introduce IP telephony, Digital TV, High-Definition, Video-on-Demand, and more recently, mobile telephony and data transmission services.  At September 30, 2010, Aster provided services to 368,000 video (including 92,000 digital TV), 177,000 internet and 70,000 fixed telephony subscribers.