NEWPATH NETWORKS ANNOUNCES $47 MILLION IN PRIVATE EQUITY FINANCING FOR
CONTINUED EXPANSION IN EXISTING AND NEW MARKETS
SEATTLE, WA -- Apr 22, 2009 -- NewPath Networks, an industry leader in the design, development and operation of fiber-fed DAS (distributed antenna system) wireless carrier networks, today announced $47 million in new investment funding in a private placement offering, of which $30 million was closed on April 20, 2009. The financing was led by Charterhouse Group, a private equity investment firm in New York, New York; joined by Meritage Funds, a venture capital firm in Denver, Colorado; and existing investor Sweetwater Capital, LLC, a venture capital firm in Red Bank, New Jersey. Proceeds from the financing will be used for network expansion through acquisitions and organic growth in existing and new markets across the U.S.
"We've seen a significant increase in the need for network capacity and coverage to support wireless voice, video and data services, which makes it even more critical for wireless operators to put measures in place to accommodate such demand," said Mike Kavanagh, chief executive officer of NewPath Networks. "The depth and breadth of telecom and wireless experience from Charterhouse, Meritage, and Sweetwater, combined with their capital resources puts NewPath in a strategic position to expand footprint and grow the business."
"Given the continued demand for wireless voice and particularly bandwidth-intensive multimedia and data services, NewPath is poised to provide quickly deployable and cost-effective solutions for wireless networks that are already capacity constrained," said Bill Marraccini, co-founder and chairman of the board of NewPath Networks and managing partner at Sweetwater Capital. "We're confident that NewPath will continue to deliver on a viable business model and DAS solutions that enable wireless service providers to add capacity and coverage to meet demand for wireless services in areas where adding conventional antenna towers is not practical. Charterhouse and Meritage are a perfect fit for NewPath's expansion plans and its capital and strategic needs in that regard."
Thomas C. Dircks, managing partner at Charterhouse Group, stated, "NewPath fills a very real market need. As a leading national service provider focusing on high density networks, its DAS networks provide value to wireless carriers who need alternatives to building towers, allowing them to add capacity and coverage with unobtrusive antennas that preserve the aesthetics within the communities they serve."
Currently, NewPath Networks is a public utility operating in 31 states. The company's distributed antenna system (DAS) networks dramatically increase wireless capacity and assure ubiquitous wireless coverage in commercial and residential communities where they are deployed. Communities with DAS networks are better able to serve users by accommodating higher data speeds while reducing call quality issues such as blocked or dropped calls. The DAS network allows multiple top tier wireless operators to share wireless access and ensure availability of their wireless services while preserving the aesthetics of the local communities.
RBC Daniels acted as exclusive financial advisor to NewPath Networks in the transaction.
ABOUT CHARTERHOUSE
Charterhouse Group, Inc. Charterhouse Group, is a private equity firm with over three and a half decades of experience in building leading middle-market companies. Established in 1973, Charterhouse has invested in excess of $2 billion in equity and established over 100 platform companies with a focus in the business services, healthcare services and consumer products and services sectors. For more information, visit http://www.charterhousegroup.com.
ABOUT MERITAGE
Founded in 1998, Meritage Funds is a Denver-based family of venture capital funds with more than $600 million of committed capital under management. The Firm invests in network-enabled service companies, specifically those that leverage networks to enable communication, deliver content and facilitate commerce. Meritage is stage-agnostic and seeks opportunities where the firm's operating expertise and sector knowledge can guide the strategic direction of its portfolio companies and create sustainable value. For more information, visit http://meritagefunds.com.
ABOUT SWEETWATER CAPITAL
Sweetwater Capital was formed in 2003 to provide early stage financing to wireless and communication companies. William Marraccini, Sweetwater's managing director, was the former founder of AAT Communications Corp., which until its recent sale to SBA Communications, was the largest private tower company in the U.S. Marraccini is also a managing partner in Merchants Capital. Sweetwater Capital is located in Red Bank, New Jersey. For more information regarding Sweetwater Capital contact George O'Brien at (201) 543-8466.
ABOUT RBC DANIELS
RBC Daniels is a leader in financial services to the cable, telecommunications, media and technology industries worldwide. The company assists clients with mergers and acquisitions, public and private equity and debt financings and financial advisory engagements. RBC Daniels is a division of RBC Capital Markets Corporation. RBC Capital Markets is a member of FINRA and SIPC. For more information, visit http://www.rbcdaniels.com.
ABOUT NEWPATH NETWORKS
NewPath Networks is a wireless infrastructure company that designs, develops and operates fiber-fed wireless carrier networks using a distributed antenna architecture to improve signal strength and network capacity. NewPath's solutions address wireless network capacity demands due to growth in data and multimedia applications. The company's cost-effective, invisible wireless networks accommodate multiple carriers without new cell site or tower build-out. Communities choose NewPath Networks because the distributed antenna architecture enables concealment of antennas and equipment, and provides cellular coverage across multiple carriers with minimal aesthetic impact. NewPath's solutions are also ideal for large corporate or university campus environments, where the systems provide on-campus coverage and capacity for multiple carriers with a single system that is managed by NewPath Networks. Service providers that license space on these systems gain efficiencies in time-to-market and reduced capital expenditures for hardware, facilities, and stealth building costs, as well as reductions in ongoing operational expenses. For more information, visit http://www.newpathnetworks.net.
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