Press Releases
World Wide Packets Raises $25.5 Million in Funding from Leading Industry Investors
Recent Round to Drive Product Expansion and Further Sales Reach
Spokane Valley, WA – December 5, 2005 –World Wide Packets, the leading provider of Carrier Ethernet solutions, announced today that it has successfully completed a round of funding for $25.5 million. The round was co-led by Eagle River Holdings, LLC and Rally Capital, LLC. These new investors join existing shareholders Argo Capital, Azure Capital Partners, Madrona Venture Group, Northwest Venture Associates and Entrepia Ventures. The proceeds from this financing will enable World Wide Packets to further develop its innovative Carrier Ethernet solutions, increase its sales capacity and product adoption with carriers, as well as expand its international market base.
World Wide Packets is changing the economics for service providers, cable operators, emerging carriers and municipalities by dramatically reducing the capital expenditure and operating costs associated with the deployment of and migration to Carrier Ethernet. The World Wide Packets solution has been globally adopted as it provides the most comprehensive characteristics of circuit-switched solutions; flexibility, resiliency and Hard QoS (quality of service) for every application. This unique combination, while compatible with any standards based Ethernet, makes possible the creation and rapid deployment of a full range of service types including IPTV, VOIP and mission critical data over a common service delivery infrastructure. During the past year, World Wide Packets grew its customer base with the addition of several new partners and carrier customers including international network vendor Marconi and leading UK service provider ntl.
Eagle River and Rally Capital have a long, successful history investing in start up telecommunications companies. The new investors will provide additional telecommunications expertise with the addition of Eagle River's Rob Mechaley and Rally Capital's Dennis Weibling to the World Wide Packets Board of Directors.
“Rally Capital invests in companies well positioned to take advantage of emerging market opportunities and who have established themselves as the premier supplier in their market. We look forward to supporting World Wide Packets as they continue their growth,” said Dennis Weibling, managing director, Rally Capital. “We anticipate World Wide Packets' ongoing success toward shaping the marketplace.”
“We are delighted that Eagle River and Rally Capital have joined our trusted group of investors at this exciting time in the Company's history” said Dave Curry, president and CEO of World Wide Packets. “The continued confidence of top-tier investors in World Wide Packets is a testament to the company's role as one of the fastest growing companies for Carrier Ethernet solutions. This round of funding marks a major milestone for World Wide Packets as we experience an impressive success rate and development in a market poised for burgeoning growth and demand.”
“As the market demand for Carrier Ethernet rises, vendors that provide innovative engineering and understanding of the evolving market trends, will stand apart. World Wide Packets has demonstrated this form of leadership through its quality of products,” said Rob Mechaley of Eagle River. “Their unique value proposition and approach are why we made the decision to invest in the company.”
“2006 is projected to be a high- growth period for Carrier Ethernet providers, and World Wide Packets is poised to spearhead the movement by delivering network solutions that meet the demands of this rapidly expanding market,” said Douglas Schrier, senior partner, Argo Capital. “As one of World Wide Packets' previous investors, we have always been impressed by the company's execution. They have an impressive track record of pioneering innovative solutions and garnering significant customer traction.”
About World Wide Packets
World Wide Packets is a leading provider of Carrier Ethernet solutions that allow service providers, cable operators, emerging carriers and municipalities to realize a new level of speed and agility in the deployment of revenue generating Ethernet services. With World Wide Packets' LightningEdge® product family, carriers can address the demand with their growing subscriber base by fully leveraging the power, flexibility and low cost of Ethernet technology, while dramatically reducing the CapEx and OpEx of existing legacy networks. Only World Wide Packets offers the QoS, scalability, reliability and manageability necessary to making Carrier Ethernet services such as IPTV, VoIP, mission critical data and wireless transport a reality. For more information on World Wide Packets, please visit www.worldwidepackets.com.
About Eagle River Holdings, LLC
Eagle River Holdings, LLC is part of a group of closely held investment companies formed by Craig McCaw, beginning in 1993. Eagle River invests primarily in telecommunications and technology companies. The group's past investments have included Nextel, Nextel Partners, RadioFrame Networks, Clearwire Corporation and ICO Global Communications, among others.
About Rally Capital, LLC
Rally Capital, LLC was formed in early 2005 with a focus on investing in telecommunications companies. Bringing decades of strategic industry experience and relationships, Rally invests in companies with innovative approaches to meet the needs of their customers and service organizations.
About Argo Capital
Argo Capital is a leading venture capital firm focused on investing in companies that are enabling the convergence of wireless communications and the Internet. Its relationship with telecommunications operators and industry partners on four continents provides relationships and knowledge that add real value and increase the odds of its' portfolio companies achieving their goals. For more information, please visit www.argoglobal.com.
About Azure Capital Partners
Azure Capital Partners is an early stage venture capital firm with over $500 million under management, headquartered in San Francisco, California. Our goal is to identify, invest in and help build earlier stage information technology companies that are at the forefront of a transformative opportunity for growth. Our partners have a long track record of identifying and helping to build some of the most successful companies in communications, software and related technology segments. Azure Capital Partners support portfolio companies with active guidance to our entrepreneurs in all key aspects of strategy, operations and governance. For more information, please visit www.azurecap.com.
About Madrona Venture Group
Madrona Venture Group LLC (www.madrona.com) is an early-stage venture capital firm focused on the information technology economy in the Pacific Northwest. The firm targets investments in technology companies, with an emphasis on enterprise software and services, consumer software and services, and wireless, networking and infrastructure. Based in Seattle, Madrona has a $250 million fund that includes early-stage investments such as Isilon Systems, Impinj and ShareBuilder. For more information, visit www.madrona.com.
About Northwest Venture Associates
Northwest Venture Associates (NWVA) has $190 million under management and is the largest venture capital fund exclusively invested in Pacific Northwest-based companies. Led by founder and managing partner Tom Simpson, NWVA has more than 15 years of experience investing in both start-up and mature businesses across several industries, such as enterprise software, healthcare, Internet, specialty retail and wireless. Additional information on Northwest Venture Associates can be found at www.nwva.com.
Contact
Shannon Breen
Racepoint Group, Inc.
781-487-4607
sbreen@racepointgroup.com
