East Capital Explorer expects to close the sale of its pan-Baltic cable operator Starman to Providence Equity by the end of this quarter.

Under the terms of the deal, which was announced in March, it is disposing of its entire stake of 63% for around €81 million, with the potential to earn an additional €5 million in 2017.

Indeed, East Capital Explorer stands to gain at least €35 million on its total investment of €46 million since 2013.

In its latest set of the results, East Capital Explorer notes that Starman generated revenues of €14.4 million in Q1, or 5.7% more than a year earlier, with Cgates accounting for €4.8 million of the total.

EBITDA amounted to €6.4 million (-3.7%), of which €1.1 million was for Cgates. The decline was largely attributable to increased operating expenses in Lithuania.

Starman’s net profit in Q1 amounted to €0.6 million, down from the €1.3 million figure posted a year earlier.

Its RGU total was 524,000 (496,000 in Q1 2015), of which Cgates claimed 224,000 (204,000). Average ARPU was €13.9 (€12.9).