Tau Capital PLC - First day of dealing

RNS Number:2654W
Tau Capital PLC
09 May 2007

Tau Capital plc: First Day of Dealings on AIM and Placing

Tau Capital plc ('Tau' or the 'Company'), an investment company investing in
both public and private business based in Kazakhstan and the surrounding
regions, is pleased to announce its admission to AIM, earlier today, under the
ticker symbol 'TAU', following a share placing with institutional investors.
Numis Securities is acting as both Nominated Adviser and broker to Tau.

Admission Statistics

Market capitalisation at the Placing Price                      US $ 251,000,002

Gross proceeds of the Placing                                   US $ 250,000,000

Placing Price per Ordinary Share                                           US $1

Number of Ordinary Shares in issue on Admission                      251,000,002

Overview

Tau Capital plc is a newly incorporated investment company established to allow
investors the opportunity to realise returns through investing in both public
and private businesses that are established, operating or have exposure to
Kazakhstan. Although Kazakhstan focused, the Company will also seek investment
opportunities in the Kyrgyz Republic, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and
Russia. These investments are proposed through the utilisation of the knowledge
and skills of a highly connected and credible management team with a track
record of successful investments in these countries.

Spencer House Compass Capital Limited will act as the manager to the Company and
will be responsible for identifying, structuring and monitoring investments. The
Manager will delegate its responsibilities to Spencer House Capital Management
LLP and Compass Asset Management Limited a subsidiary of VISOR Holding LLP, the
Investment Advisers, who together have experience in both investment and
operational activities in Kazakhstan and the wider region since the mid 1990s,
as well as the structuring of private company investments and asset management.
The Investment Advisers will target a broad range of sectors, including oil and
gas exploration and production, metals and mining, transport and logistics,
consumer-related, telecommunications, financial services and business services.

Quotes:

Lord Rothschild, Chairman of Spencer House Capital Management Limited,
commented,

'I have been pursuing with great interest developments in Kazakhstan. VISOR are
one of the country's leading private equity and asset management groups, and we
are privileged to be involved in a joint venture with them.  I have confidence
that investors in this Fund will benefit from the wealth of investment
opportunities in Kazakhstan and its neighbouring countries.'

Aidan Karibjanov, Chairman of VISOR Holding, commented,

'we are delighted to be working with Spencer House Capital Management to create
Tau Capital. Whilst Kazakhstan's economy has developed rapidly it offers very
exciting investment opportunities which are not yet reflected in the stock
market. We also see very attractive investment potential in our neighbouring
countries.'

Investment Strategy

The Company aims to:

*    invest in Public Equities of companies with assets in Kazakhstan or in the
     Investment Countries (or whose business has exposure to Kazakhstan or in
     the Investment Countries), who have securities listed on the KASE or any
     other stock exchange or are otherwise traded on over-the-counter markets in
     Kazakhstan, the Investment Countries or internationally; and

*    provide equity and equity-related investment capital to Private Companies
     operating in or with business exposure to Kazakhstan and further in the
     Investment Countries (or whose business is located within Kazakhstan or an
     Investment Country) who are seeking capital for growth and development,
     consolidation or acquisition, or as a pre-IPO round of financing.
     Investments may also be made in Special Situations if the Manager considers
     the investment to be of a type in keeping with the aims of the Fund.

The Directors shall target a broad range of sectors including oil and gas
exploration and production, metals and mining, transport and logistics,
consumer-related, telecommunications, financial services and business services
as they believe that these sectors in each of Kazakhstan and the Investment
Countries' economies provide capital appreciation opportunities for investors.

Once fully invested, the Fund will have a minimum of 50 per cent. of its asset
allocation in Public Equity and up to 50 per cent. in Private Companies and
Special Situations, although the initial investment made by the Fund will nearly
all be made in Public Equities.

Public Equities

When investing in Public Equities, the Company will seek to invest a majority of
its funds in a core portfolio of approximately 10 investments which, in the
opinion of the Manager, provide the best medium term (one to two years) value
creation potential. These core positions will typically be between 5 per cent.
and 15 per cent. of the NAV of the Fund. The Manager will seek to select '
national champions' within Kazakhstan or the Investment Countries or companies
with strong positions or strong growth potential in their respective sectors.
The Company will seek to deploy the balance of the funds in shorter-term (less
than one year) tactical holdings, typically each up to 5 per cent. of the Fund's
NAV.

Private Companies and Special Situations

The Company intends generally to take minority equity stakes of greater than 10
per cent. in each Private Company and may seek to secure board representation
where it considers that the Company and/or an investee company would benefit
from such an appointment. The Company may take controlling positions in investee
companies from time to time.

The Board

Philip Lambert, Chairman and Independent Non-Executive Director

Philip is the Chairman of the Investment Committee of the ABP and a member of
the Supervisory Board of Robeco. Throughout his career Philip has been
extensively involved in the European pension industry in Europe. He was a member
of the Pension Managers Advisory Committee to the Board of Directors of the New
York Stock Exchange. Philip was a member of the Investment Committee of the
National Association of Pension Funds in the UK. He was a member of the Advisory
Committee to the ABN AMRO Investment Funds and is now a member of the Investment
Committee of the ABN AMRO Pension Fund.

Richard Horlick, Non-Executive Director

Richard is the CEO and a founding partner of Spencer House Capital Management,
LLP. Prior to this, he was a main board director of Schroders plc where he was
head of investments and a member of the General Management Committee. From 1994
to 2002, Richard held a number of positions at Fidelity. He was president and
CEO of Fidelity Management Trust Co the institutional investment arm of Fidelity
in the US and also the Trust Bank for the Fidelity Mutual funds. Richard was
previously responsible for the investment and development of Fidelity's
institutional business outside the US, and was a member of the operating
committee of Fidelity International. Between 1984 and 1994, he was a director
and portfolio manager at Newton Investment Management.

Almas Chukin, Non-Executive Director

Almas is the Chairman of Compass Asset Management and a partner of VISOR. He has
been involved in the economic affairs of Central Asia for the last 20 years.
Almas has held various government positions in the Kyrgyz Republic including his
roles at the Ministry of Finance (Head of the Industrial Department), Ministry
of Foreign Affairs (Ambassador to the United States), and the State Property
Fund (Deputy Chairman) where he was responsible for various aspects of
governmental strategy from internal policy issues to cooperation with the
International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. Since leaving government and
entering the private sector in 1997, Almas has worked primarily in the financial
sector of Kazakhstan and has played a pivotal role in the development of this
part of the economy. While his main focus has been on private equity
transactions, Almas was also actively involved in the public securities market
during his tenure as a Managing Director of a major broker-dealer. His
experience also includes being Deputy Chairman and CFO of Halyk Bank of
Kazakhstan, the country's largest retail bank and Chairman of Temir Bank.

Robert Brown, III, Independent Non-Executive Director

Robert is the Chairman of Ramler Media Limited, a leading integrated media
company providing services to the global Russian-speaking community whose shares
are listed on AIM with a current market value of approximately US$700 million.
He is also a trustee and the Vice Chairman of the Investment Committee of the
US$1.0 billion endowment of Carnegie-Mellon University, and a director of
several early-stage Russian businesses. Robert has been involved in investment
banking and private equity activities in the former Soviet Union since 1992.
From 1995 to 1998, he was the Managing Director and Head of Corporate Finance
for Creditanstalt International Advisors, a New York-based subsidiary of
Creditanstalt Investment Bank. Robert established the investment banking
operations for CAIB in Russia through the acquisition of Grant Financial Group,
a leading Russian securities broker. Prior to joining CAIB, Robert worked from
1978 to 1994, including 10 years as a Managing Director, at Lehman Brothers in
New York City. He was Co-Head of the bank's Public Finance Division between 1990
and 1994. He led the development of Lehman Brothers' business in Russia during
the period 1992 to 1994.

Philip Scales, Independent Non-Executive Director and Company Secretary

Philip Scales is Managing Director of IOMA Fund and Investment Management
Limited. Prior to this, Philip was the Managing Director of Northern Trust
International Fund Administration Services (Isle of Man) Limited. Philip has
over 30 years' experience of working offshore, primarily in corporate and mutual
fund administration. A director of a number of listed companies, Philip is a
Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators. Philip is a
native English speaker.


Tau Capital plc                                     +44 (0) 20 7647 8558
Richard Horlick

Public Relations consultant                         +44 (0) 7816 770 758
Damien McCrystal

Numis Securities Limited                            +44 (0) 20 7260 1000
Oliver Hemsley / Nick Westlake

Unless stated otherwise, capitalised terms used in this announcement have the
meanings ascribed to them in the admission document of Tau Capital plc dated 3
May 2007.


                                                                      9 May 2007


                      This information is provided by RNS
            The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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