AS Starman

Starman was an Estonian cable television and Internet service provider company founded in 1992 and located in Tallinn. Since December 2016, Starman Estonia is wholly owned by Elisa.^[1][2]

Starman

Industry	Cable television Internet service provider IP Telephony
Founded	1992
Founder	Indrek Kuivallik Peeter Kern
Defunct	2018
Headquarters	Tallinn, Estonia
Parent	Elisa
Website	www.starman.ee

Starman was the largest cable television company in Estonia^[3] and in the Baltic countries.^[4]

History

Starman was founded in 1992 by Peeter Kern and Indrek Kuivallik.^[5] Peeter Kern served as the company's CEO until his unexpected death in 2014.^[6][7]

In 2013, the Swedish investment company East Capital Explorer bought 51% of Starman's shares from the company's founders.^[8]

In 2015 Starman bought the Lithuanian telecommunications company Cgates, with funds from the majority shareholder East Capital Explorer,^[9] but the Lithuanian branch was again separated in a later acquisition.^{[citation needed]}

In March 2016, East Capital Explorer intended to sell its 63% share to American investment firm Providence Equity Partners for €81 million,^[10] but Starman's minority shareholder Polaris Invest (owned by founder Indrek Kuivallik) used their pre-emptive rights to make the purchase instead.^[1][11][12] In December 2016, Starman Estonia was wholly acquired by Finnish telecommunications company Elisa for €151 million; this deal did not include the Lithuanian branch.^[1][2][13]