Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman is setting up a new investment fund for acquire telecoms and technology businesses in Europe and the US. London-based LetterOne Technology (L1Technology) is a type of private equity fund that will also hold Firdman and his partners' 48 percent stake in Vimpelcom and 13 percent in Turkcell. The new company's board will include Lastminute.com co-founder Brent Hoberman, Irish telecoms entrepreneur Denis O’Brien, Osama Bedier, a former Google payments executive, former Skype executive Russ Shaw and Sir Julian Horn-Smith, one of the founding management team at Vodafone.
CEO Alexey Reznikovich told the Financial Times that he believed that the "old fashioned" telecoms industry needed a root-and-branch overhaul to make money for investors. He said the group had no debt on its balance sheet, which meant that leverage could be used to increase available funds to USD 25 billion.
Reznikovich said the company was aiming to acquire businesses in areas ranging from traditional telecoms groups that needed help or new capital, to internet companies such as those making apps and streaming services that could be used by its global mobile operations. "We are not looking for the next Google," Reznikovich said, pointing to the opportunity to invest in markets open to consolidation as regulatory concerns about mergers in the sector ease. "New acquisitions will benefit from our significant expertise, and will gain access to our existing customer base, which numbers over 200 million across existing networks."
