Estonian businessman Guido Sammelselg, one of the leading figures behind the company Baltic Rail Services that bought the state-owned railway company Estonian Railways in 2001, has died, the evening news of public broadcaster ERR said.
Guido Sammelselg, one of the leaders of Estonian Railways privatizer, dies
5th September 2013, 14:13
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Born in 1956, Sammelselg came into prominence in the Estonian business community as manager of Tallinna Pank at the beginning of the 1990s and later as founder of the Saastumarket low-cost retail chain, now a holding of Rimi. In 2001, he was one of the group of businessmen behind the company Baltic Rail Services that bought a 66 percent majority stake in Estonian Railways from the state. Sammelselg was chosen Businessman of the Year 2011.
The shares changed hands the other way round five years later when the government bought back the railway company.
As a passionate lover of arts Sammelselg has supported the development of young Estonian artists both at home and abroad.
In 2009 a court declared the personal bankruptcy of Sammelselg, then core owner of the telecommunications company Norby Telecom.