Truphone, a UK-based mobile network founded by James Tagg and backed by media groups, has raised £75m ($118m) primarily from Roman Abramovich, owner of Russia-based oil major Sibneft.
Abramovich’s investment vehicle, Minden, has acquired a 23.3% stake in Truphone for £70m, valuing the company at £300m.
Truphone works in 220 countries and is available as a local service in the UK, US and Australia. Truphone said it would use this financing round to open businesses in the Netherlands, Hong Kong, Poland, Germany and Spain this year.
At the end of 2011, Truphone posted annual turnover of $10.2m, up 61% from 2010, and a pre-tax loss of £30.1m, according to a regulatory filing.
Truphone raised £12.5m in January 2007’s series A round from a consortium including publisher Independent News & Media (INM), Germany-based media group Hubert Burda’s Digital Ventures (now spun out as Acton Capital Partners), venture capital firms Wellington Partners, Straub Ventures and Eden Ventures. In April 2008’s B round, Truphone raised £16.5m from all its prior investors.
Acton does not have Truphone as a portfolio company but in its 2011 accounts both Burda and INM owned less than 1% each.
The company’s regulatory filing for 2011 showed its largest shareholders were Vollin Holdings (60.2%), majority-owned by Alexander Abramov, who founded Russia-based steel firm Evraz; and Sloane Robinson hedge fund co-founder George Robinson (7.55% directly and as the controlling party in Somercourt Investments that owned 11.17% of Truphone).
