Esprit Capital Partners LLP backs PacketExchange
2005-04-12
Esprit Capital Partners LLP (formerly Cazenove Private Equity) is the latest top investor to back network service provider PacketExchange. Its £3 million investment, in exchange for a minority stake in the company and a Board seat, builds on successive 2004 inward funding from multiple investors, including Bank of Scotland Equity and GPX Ltd.
The investment is testament to the breadth of PacketExchange‘s critical networking products and the Company‘s 600 strong client base, which includes industry leaders such as Microsoft, Telewest, Yahoo! and Blue Square. Since its 2002 launch, PacketExchange has gained a solid reputation for developing and delivering ‘intelligent connection‘ services that allow companies to efficiently, cost effectively and securely manage Internet data flow delivered over an Ethernet connection. “This additional key investment justifies the faith investors have in PacketExchange and the results to come,” said Chief Executive Kieron O‘Brien. “These newly secured assets will help us to maintain our strong business momentum and nearly 100% year-on-year sales growth. They will also be used to integrate and exploit our recent acquisition of XchangePoint.” For 2005, the Company plans to launch several new products and to grow internationally through organic expansion and potential further acquisitions.Commenting on the deal, Esprit Capital Partners' Investment Director Simon Cook, said:“PacketExchange is definitely one of the telecoms industry‘s bright prospects. It‘s driven by an excellent management team with the vision and ambition to dominate its sector. We‘re very familiar with the challenges faced by companies at this stage and strongly believe our investment will help PacketExchange grow to become an even more valuable corporation.”
