GMT Communications Partners, an independent European private equity group focused exclusively on the communications sector, has made three promotions within its senior team.
GMT Communications Partners, an independent European private equity group focused exclusively on the communications sector, has made three promotions within its senior team.
Jonathan Gillbanks (photo) has become a managing director, Sebastian Sipp a principal and Vikram Krishna a senior associate.
In his new position Gillbanks, who was previously a senior vice-president, will focus on refinancings and special projects for portfolio companies as well as new investments. He was recruited by GMT in 2001 in an advisory role at PEPcom, a German cable television provider in which GMT was invested, and subsequently joined GMT’s investment team.
He led the recent submarine cable financing initiative of Melita, the Maltese cable television and broadband operator. He was also involved in the recent refinancing of Redext, the Spanish outdoor advertising group. He has substantial investment banking and advisory experience in the communications sector in the UK, Germany, Spain, Italy and Latin America and speaks German, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish.
Sipp has been promoted to principal from senior associate. He joined GMT in 2005 from Merrill Lynch investment banking and is actively involved in a range of GMT portfolio companies including DOCUgroup, a B2B publisher operating in Germany, Sweden and Switzerland, and Melita. Recently Sipp worked on the joint venture majority buyout of Bigpoint with GE/NBC Universal’s Peacock Fund and the DOCUgroup acquisition program. In his new role, Sipp will be taking a leading role in identifying and executing new investments.
Krishna has been promoted to senior associate from associate. He joined GMT in 2004 as a portfolio analyst from PwC Transaction Services and is a qualified chartered accountant. Krishna has worked on portfolio companies including Multicom Security, the Scandinavian specialist telecoms operator, and Primesight, the UK outdoor advertising group. In 2008 he was actively involved in the successful exit of Asiakastieto, which generated an IRR of approximately 70 per cent.
‘Jonathan, Sebastian and Vikram are highly skilled professionals with fantastic commitment and enthusiasm,’ says GMT managing partner Jeff Montgomery. ‘Their individual contributions will continue to be invaluable as we look to strengthen and build GMT’s position as the leading private equity fund focused solely on the European communications sector.’
Gillbanks says: ‘It is great to be part of a team that is consistently developing in anticipation of great investment opportunities in the communications sector. GMT Communications Partners’ sole focus and expert knowledge within its target space allows us to continue to originate and complete attractive investments despite a difficult market. Industry sector funds are becoming an increasingly important part of the private equity landscape and I am looking forward to my role as managing director with one of Europe’s leading sector funds.’
