OREANDA-NEWS. May 16, 2011. CapMan Russia fund managed by Nordic private equity firm CapMan has become a shareholder in one of RUSNANO’s project companies — VIRIAL, a Russian manufacturer of ceramic and cerametallic articles used in many industrial sectors. By attracting this and earlier investments, VIRIAL will be able to expand its production capacity in St. Petersburg and target promising new markets.

Established in 1991, today VIRIAL produces ceramic and metal ceramic slide bearings, cutting instruments, and other wear-resistant goods. In the summer of 2009, the Supervisory Council of RUSNANO approved co-investment to increase the company’s production volume and scope. VIRIAL had net sales of around €15 million in 2010. The company employs about 340 people.

According to CapMan Investment Director Alexander Vlasov, “VIRIAL has grown steadily in recent years, developing production in response to customer demand. The company has a powerful core of technical know-how. It is well positioned to enlarge its presence in its current markets and to bring new products to other industrial sectors.”

“Entry of a fund like CapMan into VIRIAL is recognition of the business and technical potential that our project companies hold. CapMan is the first world-class-name fund to invest directly in a company in which RUSNANO participates. Given the origin of our new partner, we are counting on more active product promotion for VIRIAL in international markets,” RUSNANO Managing Director Dmitry Lisenkov remarked.

VIRIAL General Director Vladimir Rumyantsev underscored how vital CapMan’s investment is at this stage of company development. “This decision, made when the markets are dynamically evolving, will enable us to intensify development of proprietary nano-enabled products, to bring into the markets goods with superior industrial attributes. The company’s experience and our well-established

relationships with key customers have helped us work out a product strategy to meet their current needs and to propose to them solutions that will make their equipment and their manufacturing processes more efficient.”

As a result of the fund’s investment, CapMan Russia now owns 15 percent of the RUSNANO shares of VIRIAL. CapMan is a major investor in CapMan Russia fund.