WHILE GLOBAL MARKETS CONTRACT, SIGMABLEYZER FINDS VALUE
IN KAZAKHSTAN AND ACQUIRES FIRST KAZAKH COMPANY - "ASEM-AI" 

SigmaBleyzer, Astana, Kazakhstan, Tuesday, September 23, 2008
 
ASTANA, Kazakhstan - SigmaBleyzer, a multinational private equity firm operating in the region, has acquired a controlling share of Asem-Ai bottled water company through SigmaBleyzer’s SBV V Kazakhstan investment vehicle. The investment includes a large capital infusion for market expansion and new facilities.
 
Asem-Ai has bottled mineral water for 11 years and is one of the leading companies in mineral and table water market in Kazakhstan. The founder of Asem Ai Mukhtar Kochkarov will maintain partial ownership and will continue to manage the company.
 
“We are very pleased to make this investment in a high quality company like Asem Ai. We value our partnership with Mr. Mukhtar Kochkarov, who created and built a very attractive business with strong potential for growth, and look forward to working with him as we take Asem Ai to the next level. We are also very excited about making our first investment in Kazakhstan, a new market for us, but the one we view as highly attractive even in this challenging times of the global financial crisis. We will continue to look for attractive opportunities to expand our investments in Kazakhstan” said Michael Bleyzer, President and CEO of SigmaBleyzer
 
SBV V closed in December, 2007, was oversubscribed and had a final closing of euro150 Million. In addition, SigmaBleyzer has four previous funds including SBF IV and the Ukrainian Growth Funds. Investors include large multi-national institutions, family offices and high net-worth individuals from around the world.

ABOUT SIGMABLEYZER 
Operating in the region for over a decade, SigmaBleyzer is one of the largest and most experienced private equity investors in Eastern Europe. With the strength of the company’s local infrastructure, western-style management and knowledge of local markets, SigmaBleyzer has created one of the best investment management companies in the region. SigmaBleyzer manages funds and special purpose investment vehicles with $1 billion in assets under management and has made investments in 100 companies in Eastern Europe since 1994. 

As a manager of a family of private equity funds currently investing in Ukraine, Romania, Bulgaria and Kazakhstan, SigmaBleyzer utilizes a hybrid investment approach developed specifically for emerging markets and focused on simultaneous value creation at the micro or enterprise level and at the macro level.

Because of this unique approach and strong on-the-ground presence in a region where many of its investors could not have invested directly, SigmaBleyzer brings one of the most attractive pipelines of investment opportunities found anywhere to its client base.

With offices in Kyiv and Kharkiv (Ukraine); Sofia (Bulgaria), Bucharest (Romania), Astana and Almaty (Kazakhstan), and a back office in Houston, Texas, SigmaBleyzer has the infrastructure in its countries of operation to successfully manage portfolio companies to help them reach their full potential, while creating value for the investors, shareholders, employees and other stakeholders.    [www.SigmaBleyzer.com]