AS Starman
Starman was an Estonian cable television and Internet service provider company founded in 1992 and located in Tallinn. Since December 2016, Starman Estonia is wholly owned by Elisa.[1][2]
Industry | Cable television Internet service provider IP Telephony |
---|---|
Founded | 1992 |
Founder | Peeter Kern, Indrek Kuivallik |
Defunct | 2018 |
Headquarters | Tallinn, Estonia |
Parent | Elisa |
Website | www |
Starman was the largest cable television company in Estonia[3] and in the Baltic countries.[4]
History
Starman was founded in 1992 by Peeter Kern and Indrek Kuivallik.[5] Peeter Kern served as the company's CEO until his unexpected death in 2014.[6][7]
In 2013, the Swedish investment company East Capital Explorer bought 51% of Starman's shares from the company's founders.[8]
In 2015 Starman bought the Lithuanian telecommunications company Cgates, with funds from the majority shareholder East Capital Explorer,[9] but the Lithuanian branch was again separated in a later acquisition.
In March 2016, East Capital Explorer intended to sell its 63% share to American investment firm Providence Equity Partners for €81 million,[10] but Starman's minority shareholder Polaris Invest (owned by founder Indrek Kuivallik) used their pre-emptive rights to make the purchase instead.[1][11][12] In December 2016, Starman Estonia was wholly acquired by Finnish telecommunications company Elisa for €151 million; this deal did not include the Lithuanian branch.[1][2][13]
References
- "Finland's Elisa acquires Estonia's Starman". Digital TV Europe. 14 December 2016.
- "Finnish telecom Elisa buys full holding in Starman Estonia". ERR. 13 December 2016.
- "CNBC launches on Starman in Estonia", CNBC, July 10, 2014.
- "Starman and Nokia to Deploy First Nationwide 10-Gigabit Residential Network in Europe", Fiber Optics Weekly Update, June 10, 2016 – via HighBeam Research (subscription required) .
- "Starmani asutaja ostab senise suurosaniku välja". Äripäev (in Estonian). 10 May 2016.
- "Ootamatult lahkus Starmani asutaja Peeter Kern". Äripäev (in Estonian). 11 March 2014.
- Inselberg, Kadri (12 March 2014). "Suri Starmani asutaja ja juht Peeter Kern". Postimees (in Estonian).
- "East Capital Explorer buys majority stake in Starman". Postimees. 3 May 2013.
- "East Capital Unveils Acquisition of Cgates in Lithuania", SeeNews Nordic, December 22, 2014.
- "Swedes sell Starman to Americans", Postimees, March 15, 2016.
- Dziadul, Chris (14 December 2016). "Finland's Elisa to buy Starman". Broadband TV News.
- "Kuivalliku Polaris sai õiguse osta Starman". Postimees (in Estonian).
- Reisenbuk, Karel (12 December 2016). "Elisa ostab Kuivallikult Starmani". Postimees (in Estonian).