RaySat Closes US$ 27
Million Investment
(14 July 2005) RaySat, Inc. a
leading global supplier of in-motion satellite antennas for cars and trains,
has closed a US$ 27 million investment round. Funds advised by Apax Partners
led the round with an US$ 18.6 million investment.
The
round was supported by existing investors Benchmark and Seed Partners.
RaySat is a leading manufacturer and supplier of in-motion low-profile
satellite antennas for the automotive, RV, train, and trucking industries. The
Company was first to introduce several products and solutions such as the
TorpedoRay and EagleRay antennas that provide one-way and two-way Internet
access on high-speed trains; the SpeedRay five-inch, low-profile line to
provide Satellite TV and/or Internet for moving automobiles and the StealthRay
two-inch Satellite TV antenna designed to be embedded in the roof of consumer
vehicles.
The Company is led by an industry renowned management team:
Chairman Mr. Yoel Gat spent more than 16 years as cofounder and CEO of Gilat
Satellite Networks, a world leader in very small aperture terminal satellite
(VSAT) communications. Mr. Samer Salameh, the President & CEO, has more
than 14 years of experience in the telecommunications and high tech industries.
Most notably, he served as chairman and CEO of Prodigy Communications Corp.,
where he grew revenues from US$ 20 million to over US$ 300 million in two
years. Other key executives include Chief Financial Officer, Mr. Liav Even
Chen, former partner at Ernst & Young and Mr. Niki Bassat, Chief Operations
Officer, formerly COO of Power Paper, COO of Satlynx and VP of Operations at
Gilat.
"We are pleased to welcome Apax Partners' Funds as lead
investors in our B round. This financing will provide us with the resources
necessary to accelerate our expansion in this new industry, which is expected
to grow to over US$ 700M by 2009 according to a Frost and Sullivan research
published earlier this year," notes Mr. Salameh. "RaySat is already well
positioned as a leading player in this space, and will now be poised to
accelerate its momentum. We started shipping our SpeedRay 1000 to our partner
Audiovox last quarter, and will now increase our production to keep up with
pent-up demand from other channels."
Pinchas Buchris, Venture Partner
at Apax Partners said: "We believe this is a unique opportunity to invest in a
high-potential company who has an outstanding management team with proven track
record in the satellite and internet services space. RaySat is targeting an
untapped market, which is much in line with the newest and most rewarded
entertainment trends in the automotive market".
Pinchas Buchris will
represent Apax Partners on the Board of Raysat.
About Raysat
In business since 1997, RaySat, Inc. is a leading supplier of in- motion, low
profile, phased-array satellite antennas. With the company's TorpedoRay product
already enabling broadband Internet access on high- speed trains in Europe,
RaySat has positioned itself as a leader in the rear-seat automotive
entertainment industry with the launch of its consumer antennas in the U.S. and
Canada. Staffed by over 120 professionals, RaySat is headquartered in Vienna,
Va., with R&D and sales facilities in Europe and representative offices in
Japan.
About Apax Partners Apax Partners is one of the world's leading
private equity investment groups, operating across the United States, Europe
and Israel. Apax Partners has raised or advised approximately US$ 20 billion
around the world. With more than 30 years of direct investing experience, Apax
Partners' Funds provide long-term equity financing to build and strengthen
world-class companies. It pursues a multi-stage equity investment strategy,
investing in late venture, growth capital and buyouts.
Apax Partners'
Funds invest in companies across its 6 chosen global sectors of information
technology, telecommunications, healthcare, media, financial/business services,
retail and consumer. Apax Partners' Funds technology and telecommunications
investments include Dialog Semiconductor, DMR Consulting, Digital Fuel,
Fractus, Frontier Silicon, Kabel Deutschland, Inmarsat, Systemonic, Preventsys,
Sonim Technologies and Wisair.
(source: RaySat)