Private Equity Looks at Booming Russia IT Market

Private Equity Looks at Booming Russia IT Market

April 02, 2007

Squire Sanders Represents Mint Capital in Key Investment in
Russia

    MOSCOW, April 2 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- Russia's booming
information technology (IT) market is a key target for
private equity firms across the globe, according to a
private equity lawyer with global law firm Squire, Sanders
& Dempsey L.L.P. The firm represented Scandinavian
private equity fund Mint Capital in its investment into the
Verysell Group, one of Russia's leading IT companies. The
Verysell deal closed March 29.

    Christopher A. Rose, a Squire Sanders private equity
lawyer based in London and Moscow, said the Mint Capital
deal is an example of growing global interest in Russian IT
as that country looks to high-technology to diversify its
economy. Rose, who is co-author of the Russian Federation
chapter of the PLC Cross-border Private Equity Handbook
2006-2007, was part of the Squire Sanders transaction team.
Other Squire Sanders attorneys participating were corporate
lawyers David Wack and Anna Manyatkina in the firm's Moscow
office and corporate lawyer Andrew Sandor in the firm's
Bratislava office. 

    "Russia is reported to have the fastest growing IT
market in the world, with projections that its US$14 million
IT market will grow by 20 percent annually," Rose said.
"The Russian government has particular interest in IT
as it seeks to diversify the economy. These factors make IT
a key investment for private equity, and we are pleased to
assist our client in this important transaction."

    Mint Capital is a minority investor in Verysell, which
will use the capital for ongoing business development. The
investment amount was not disclosed. 

    Founded in 1890, Squire, Sanders & Dempsey L.L.P.
has approximately 800 lawyers in 30 offices and 14
countries around the world. With one of the strongest
integrated global platforms and a longstanding one-firm
philosophy, Squire Sanders provides sophisticated seamless
legal counsel worldwide. Offices in the Americas are
located in Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Houston, Los
Angeles, Miami, New York, Palo Alto, Phoenix, San
Francisco, Tallahassee, Tampa, Tysons Corner, Washington
DC, West Palm Beach, Caracas, Rio de Janeiro and Santo
Domingo. In Europe, offices are in Bratislava, Brussels,
Budapest, Frankfurt, London, Moscow, Prague and Warsaw. In
Asia, offices are in Beijing, Hong Kong, Shanghai and
Tokyo. Associated offices include Bucharest, Buenos Aires,
Dublin, Kyiv, Milan and Santiago.


    For more information, please contact:

     Drez Jennings
     Marketing Communications Manager
     Squire, Sanders & Dempsey L.L.P.
     Tel:   [phone]
     Email: [e-mail]