FUNDING FUELS VOLANTIS EXPANSION SOFTBANK UK Ventures and Kennet Capital invest $9 million in Volantis
London, 28 March 2001
Volantis Systems Ltd, a leading provider of solutions for delivering device-aware web applications, has secured venture capital funding of $9 million from SOFTBANK UK Ventures, the technology-focused venture capital fund and Kennet Capital, the early-stage private equity arm of Broadview. David Sola, managing director of SOFTBANK UK, will join the Volantis board as a result of the investment.
Volantis’s core software is an Application Server based “Pervasive Internet platform”, managing user experience by intelligently optimising the presentation and behaviour of web applications, across dozens of different devices including PC, mobile phones and PDAs and interactive television.
Terry Davies, Volantis’s CEO commented: “This second round of investment from SOFTBANK and Kennet will drive an exciting new phase of global expansion planned for Volantis. Our investors’ experience, strategic advice, and international contacts are invaluable in our growth. Our product will allow customers to provide a differentiating advantage through offering content and functionality via alternative web-enabled devices as a means of supporting, servicing and selling to new and existing consumers.”
Since its inception, Volantis has grown to more than 50 employees and received strong interest amongst early customers. In addition, its key strategic partners such as BEA, ATG and IBM have shown the value its Mariner software brings in delivering the Pervasive Internet. The newly launched version 2.0 includes a live update service to Volantis’ device repository that contains analysis of the attributes and form factors of different products, standards and platforms. This live XML-based Internet service enables customers with Mariner-based applications to support the latest devices on the market without waiting for the next major release of the product.
David Sola, managing director of SOFTBANK UK comments: “Volantis’s product allows companies to develop one web site which can then be accessed from anywhere. With the management team’s strong background in enterprise class infrastructure software and the company’s close relationship with strategic ebusiness vendors, Volantis has already proved attractive to key decisions makers.”
David Carratt, managing director at Kennet Capital’s London office says: “The Volantis management team is ideally positioned to develop the huge interest the company has already achieved with numerous blue-chip companies. Volantis’s unique technology will allow their customers to manage the introduction of new devices and channels as soon as they hit the market. The company’s customers are enthusiastic at the prospect of reaching an increased number of web site users without constantly adapting content.”
Volantis, which was formed in 2000, achieved first round funding of approximately $3 million from Kennet Capital in July last year. This second round of funding will be used to expand the organization, develop product enhancements and grow sales and distribution channels.
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Kennet Capital ("Kennet"), a venture capital fund focused on European technology, internet and telecoms companies, announced today that it has invested in Finnish technology company VDSL Systems Oy ("VDSL Systems"), which develops VDSL (Very High-Speed Digital Subscriber Line) broadband communications equipment.
Kennet's investment is part of a FIM 16 million (Euro 2.7m) financing of VDSL Systems, which will provide the capital needed to fund the next stage of the company's development. SFK Finance, which was recently acquired by 3i, is an existing investor in VDSL and has co-invested in the current financing.
VDSL Systems designs high-speed broadband equipment that can integrate with conventional telephone networks. The company’s products exploit the theoretical maximum available transmission capacity over traditional copper lines. VDSL technology has the capacity to run uplink speeds at over thirty times the speed of ADSL, with uploading and downloading speeds capable of reaching 26Mbps. VDSL technology will enable the highly cost-efficient implementation of services such as video-on-demand, video conferencing, as well as super-fast Internet connections.
VDSL Systems, founded in 1999, is headquartered in Espoo, Finland. The company currently employs 25 people and expects to grow the team to 40 by the end of the year.
Commenting on the investment, Michael Elias, managing director of Kennet, said: "VDSL Systems has developed a world-class technology and has the potential to be a significant player in the rapidly expanding broadband communications equipment industry. We recognise the company's considerable growth opportunities and we are confident that the company will expand aggressively with its new funding."
Vesa Sadeharju from SFK Finance added: “This investment is an important step forward towards developing VDSL Systems into a true global player in the DSL market,”
"This investment by a respected international venture capital group is further evidence of the strength of the technology and an endorsement of VDSL Systems’ development strategy. With an investor that has strong relationships in the American and European markets, we are even more confident than before about our future”, concluded VDSL Systems’ president, Jussi Autere.
Kennet Capital Limited is the early-stage venture capital affiliate of Broadview, a leading global M&A advisor and private equity investor focused exclusively on the IT, communications and media industries. The fund has $275 million under management. Kennet Capital Limited places a strong emphasis on investments in networking and communications technologies, semiconductor IP, Internet infrastructure and enterprise software. Kennet Capital Limited strives to leverage the collective intellectual capital of the entire Broadview organization to the benefit of portfolio companies. Kennet Capital Limited is regulated by IMRO in the UK.
Altitun AB, a Swedish optical components company backed by Kennet Capital, the venture capital fund focused on the European Technology sector, has been acquired by US company, ADC Telecommunications, Inc. (Nasdaq:ADCT) for approximately US$872 million. The value of the transaction sets a new record for the highest price paid for an early-stage European technology company. Kennet Capital invested £1 million in Altitun in October 1999.
Altitun, a world leader in tunable laser technology, has developed a set of products which enable telecoms providers to deploy high-bandwidth networks at lower costs. The tunable laser has practical applications in both existing and next-generation optical networks. While currently deployed telecommunications lasers only emit light at a single wavelength, tunable lasers can emit light at multiple wavelengths, significantly reducing the overall cost of deploying WDM (Wavelength Division Multiplexing) based telecommunications networks.
Founded in 1997, Altitun has offices in Sweden, the US and the UK.
Commenting on the acquisition, Michael Elias, managing director of Kennet Capital and a director of Altitun, said: “This is a landmark transaction and one which demonstrates the strength of European technology in the optical communications sector. Altitun’s partnership with a top tier global company such as ADC will enable it to consolidate its position as a leading vendor of semiconductor tunable lasers. ”
Other recent Kennet portfolio successes include Paragon Software, a provider of software for wireless devices, which was sold in February this year to Phone.com (Nasdaq: PHCM) for US$515 million, and No Wires Needed, a leading Dutch developer of wireless LAN technology, which has signed an agreement to be acquired by Intersil (Nasdaq: ISIL), a leader in the development of communications semiconductors.
Kennet Capital was established in 1997 as a joint venture between Broadview, a leading global investment bank focused on the IT, Communications and Media industries, and Electra Managers Ltd, an international private equity group. Kennet invests exclusively in European information and communications businesses and contributes actively in the strategy of those businesses. Investment size is typically between £2 and £4 million, and ranges from start-up financings to development stage capital. To date, Kennet Capital has invested in 14 businesses from its £48 million venture capital fund. Recent investments by Kennet Capital include: E-Marketing, a leading UK-based e-business consultancy; PipingHot Networks, a developer of broadband fixed wireless communications; Aspective, an enterprise ASP providing integrated front office and e-commerce services to European businesses; Cramer Systems, a supplier of service delivery solutions to the telecoms industry; CitiKey, a developer of location-based WAP-content for wireless devices; and Interance (formerly Polisys), an e-commerce enabler for the insurance industry.
Altitun AB (www.altitun.com) provides a full tunable laser product line, designed to help systems vendors and carriers reduce costs today and drive the all-optical networks of tomorrow. Altitun is the provider of the world’s most complete tunable laser product line. It is the first tunable laser company to offer an integrated electronics control package that ensures easy management and integration.
Intersil Holding Corporation (Nasdaq:ISIL - news), a leader in the rapidly growing integrated communications market, announced today that it has signed an agreement to acquire Bilthoven, Netherlands-based No Wires Needed B.V. for Intersil common stock. No Wires Needed is an established industry leader in wireless solutions and serves the rapidly expanding high data rate wireless local area network (WLAN) market with easy-to-use, flexible and mobile wireless connections to broadband communications in homes, small offices and throughout corporate campuses.
"Wireless local area networking demand is growing rapidly as wireless connectivity grows in offices and homes" said Greg Williams, president and CEO of Intersil. "Our strategy is to provide wireless semiconductor and software architectures and this acquisition will allow us to provide even more value to our customers by bringing them a wider portfolio of solutions that get them to market faster. I believe our industry-leading customers - companies such as Cisco, Nokia, Compaq, 3Com, Dell, Siemens, Samsung and Symbol - will welcome the new capabilities of our No Wires Needed-enriched PRISM portfolio."
Williams continued, "There is great synergy here, with their complimentary technologies helping speed our transition to high growth, higher gross margin integrated communications solutions - a transition that is already ahead of plan. Additionally, both businesses are growing well. In fact, sequential sales growth in the first quarter of calendar 2000 was 54 percent for our PRISM wireless business while No Wires Needed reported an increase of 47 percent."
No Wires Needed has complementary competencies that include its innovative, high performance access point which wirelessly connects multiple PCs, hand-helds or Internet appliances to broadband media. No Wires Needed also has excellent ARM-based medium access control (MAC) technology, with its IEEE802.11-compliant ARM-based MAC being the only one in production today. This MAC technology can support up to 54 Megabit-per-second (Mbps) data rates, ideal for emerging 5 GHz wireless standards.
Intersil is today's world leader in 11 megabit per second (Mbps), IEEE802.11-compliant wireless. "The 11 Mbps high data rate market is growing and will be a significant opportunity for years" said Williams. "Voice over Internet, high data rate web browsing and digital video are all available now with our fast PRISM II chip sets." No Wires Needed positions Intersil to take advantage of emerging future data rates of 50 Mbps and beyond for moving multi-channel voice and digital video around offices and homes. Finally, No Wires Needed brings other complementary offerings, including advanced encryption software for secure communications in multi-tenant, multi-user locations and building-to-building bridges for fixed wireless applications. "In summary, the No Wires Needed portfolio is a perfect fit and provides many pieces that complete the PRISM total solution," Williams added.
"The entire No Wires Needed team is pleased to join the Intersil PRISM team and co-develop new products that accelerate our momentum in this quickly expanding marketplace," said Hans Van der Hoek, president and CEO of No Wires Needed. "We're a synergistic fit, and our combined resources will allow customers to move quickly to take advantage of significant wireless market opportunities."
The all stock transaction has been approved by the Boards of Directors of both companies and is scheduled to close within approximately 30 days, subject to obtaining required consents from No Wires Needed shareholders and meeting other customary closing conditions. No Wires Needed shareholders will receive between 3.0 and 3.35 million shares, depending on the closing prices for Intersil shares during an agreed-upon period preceding the closing. "This transaction is expected to be neutral to our calendar year 2000 earnings before goodwill amortization" Williams commented. "We anticipate it will become accretive, on a cash earnings basis, early in 2001. That revenue should grow to $50 million, on an annualized run rate, by the fourth quarter of 2001. Our combined capabilities will accelerate growth of Intersil's other wireless products and give us great traction in these markets."
Since introducing the PRISM WLAN chip set in 1996, over 50 companies have incorporated PRISM chips in more than 100 product designs. PRISM technology is designed to comply with the IEEE's 802.11 global standard and Intersil is a founding sponsor of the Wireless Ethernet Compatibility Alliance (WECA), whose Wi-FiTM brand will ensure compatibility between various 802.11-based systems. Intersil has a continuing program to rapidly introduce better performing, more highly integrated generations of PRISM chip sets and supporting design tools.
No Wires Needed B.V., established in 1994 in Bilthoven, The Netherlands, is a leading provider of IEEE 802.11-compliant wireless LAN technology and products and was the first industry vendor to ship a secure, IEEE 802.11b wireless LAN solution. No Wires Needed's innovative AirLockTM Security Software adds transparent, enhanced security to wireless LANs. The company is a member of the Wireless LAN Alliance (WLANA) and the Wireless Ethernet Compatibility Alliance (WECA). For further information about the company and its products, please visit the No Wires Needed website: http://www.nowiresneeded.com.
Intersil uses its semiconductor expertise to enable highly integrated voice, data and video communications. Intersil's integrated communications portfolio includes PRISM® Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) chip sets that enable mobile connectivity products for the home and office; analog and mixed-signal integrated circuits for broadband access to wireless and wired Wide Area Networks (WANs); and power management products that enable 24x7 reliability in network servers, next generation PCs and information appliances.
This press release contains information relating to forecasted results of Intersil, including certain projections and business trends, that are forward-looking statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results may differ materially from these forward-looking statements as a result of certain risks and uncertainties. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to No Wires Needed's ability to become accretive, on a cash earnings basis, in early 2001 and achieve $50 million annualized run-rate by the fourth quarter of 2001, global and market conditions as well as other risks and uncertainties detailed from time to time in Intersil's filings with the Securities Exchange Commission. These forward-looking statements are made only as of the date of this press release and Intersil undertakes no obligation to update or revise the forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. Specific risk factors can be found in Intersil's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
In a landmark transaction, it was announced today that Paragon Software Ltd, a company backed in 1998 by Kennet Capital, the venture capital fund focused on European technology companies, was sold to Phone.com (Nasdaq:PHCM) for approximately $500 million.
Paragon Software is a pioneer of synchronisation technology allowing PC-based personal information to be easily transferred to mobile devices. Paragon Software's product, FoneSyncTM, enables users of PC and Internet-based personal organizers such as Microsoft OutlookTM, Lotus NotesTM, Excite@Home, and Yahoo to download and synchronize contact information to over 240 digital mobile phones from 20 major manufacturers including Alcatel, Ericsson, Nokia, Panasonic, Philips, Samsung, Sanyo, Siemens, and Sony.
Kennet Capital led a venture capital financing of Paragon Software in 1998. Kennet has worked closely with the company since then to support its growth and capitalise on its position as a leader in synchronisation technology. Michael Elias, Kennet's Managing Director, served as a member of Paragon's Board of directors.
Michael Elias said, "Colin Calder, Paragon Software's founder and Chief Executive Officer, has made an outstanding contribution in transforming the company into a world leader in the area of data synchronisation for mobile devices. Wireless devices will be an important mechanism for accessing the Internet in the near future and the combination of Paragon and Phone.com is well placed to take advantage of this global trend."
Michael Elias continued, "This transaction demonstrates the ability of top European companies to attain world-class valuations. Paragon Software's success is further confirmation of the pre-eminence of European companies in the wireless communications industry"
Other investors in Paragon included 3i, Hambrecht & Quist, 3Com Corporation, and Hikari Tsushin.
Paragon Software's mission is to be the world's leading personalization and synchronisation platform for mobile and Internet devices. Paragon Software is a pioneer of synchronisation technology for mobile devices and is seen as the leading developer of synchronisation software for mobile phones. Its products have been designed from the point of view of the mobile phone user and are compatible with products from the world's most prominent handset manufacturers, software vendors, carriers and Internet portals. Strong relationships and close co-operation with Lotus, Microsoft and Symantec has ensured smooth integration with users' existing desktop software. Paragon Software's strategic relationships include AT&T Wireless, Alcatel, Ericsson, GoldMine, LG, Lotus, Microsoft, Mitsubishi, Nokia, Panasonic, Philips, Samsung, Sanyo, Siemens, Sony, Symantec, and Vodafone Ltd. Paragon Software has offices in Newbury, UK (Headquarters), Nashua, New Hampshire, USA and San Jose, California, USA.
Phone.com, Inc. (Nasdaq:PHCM) is a leading provider of software and services that enable the delivery of Internet-based information services to mass-market wireless telephones. Using its software, wireless subscribers have access to Internet- and corporate intranet-based services, including Email, news, stocks, weather, travel and sports. In addition, subscribers have access via their wireless telephones to network operators' intranet-based telephony services, which may include over-the-air activation, call management, billing history information, pricing plan subscription and voice message management. Phone.com is headquartered in Silicon Valley, California and has regional offices in Belfast, Copenhagen, London and Tokyo.
Kennet Capital is a joint venture between Broadview International, a leading global investment bank focused on the IT, Communications and Media industries and Electra Partners Ltd, an international private equity group. The objective of Kennet's 80 million Euros venture capital fund is to invest as an active investor in European technology, internet and telecoms companies. Kennet is active across Europe and aims to invest between 3 million Euros and 8 million Euros in each of its portfolio companies.Other investments by Kennet Capital include: Aspective, an enterprise ASP providing integrated front office and e-commerce services to European businesses; Cramer Systems, Multi-service provisioning for IP, wireless and backbone networks; CitiKey, a developer of location-based WAP-content for wireless devices; Altitun, a developer of tunable lasers for optical networks; and Polisys, a B2B e-commerce enabler for the insurance industry.