News
CENiX™ Secures $52M of Equity and Debt Financing
November 6, 2001
Lehigh Valley, PA October 23, 2001- CENiX Inc., a leader in the design and automated manufacture of next generation high-speed optoelectronic interfaces, announced today that it has raised an additional $52 million in a combination of second round equity and debt financing. With the participation of its Series A investors, and the addition of a global network of strategic and financial investors, this round brings the company's total funding to $77 million.
In addition to first round investors, the recently completed Series B equity round of $34 million includes POSDATA Company, Ltd., AK Investments, LG Electronics Inc., Athena Venture Fund, Samwhan Corporation, S.P. Comtech Co., Ltd., Optical Capital Group, and other strategic partners and individuals. The $18 million in debt financing was funded by Western Technology Investment and Comdisco Ventures in support of CENiX's manufacturing infrastructure and automation equipment financing.
"CENiX's high speed opto-electronic subsystems are focused on meeting the evolving needs of the global market," said Kwang-Ho Kim, President and CEO of POSDATA, a leading provider of information technology services in the Asian marketplace. "We believe CENiX is well positioned to capture market share in the growing Asian optical communications market."
CENiX's Series A funding, which was completed in August 2000, raised $25.5 million from top-tier investors including the venture capital firm of Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Dongah Elecomm Corporation and Cisco Systems. "CENiX has made a significant amount of progress in only a short period of time," said Mr. Kun Soo Lee, Chairman and CEO of Dongah Elecomm and a founding investor in CENiX. "We are very much looking forward to working with CENiX to expand their market presence in Asia."
"We believe this latest funding infusion that includes a strong mix of high quality strategic and financial investors demonstrates the company's compelling value proposition," said Dr. Melvyn Dixon, President and CEO of CENiX Inc. "This new round of investment will enable us to continue to develop new products and expand our world-class automation capability."
This investment complements the company's recent achievements in product development and manufacturing. CENiX is currently shipping the industry's first MSA compliant 10Gb/s UNiPAK·10™ optical subsystem for use in metro access and regional DWDM applications. A dramatically size reduced version will begin to ship in 2Q02. The company also recently completed its state-of-the-art fully automated manufacturing facility and design center in Lehigh Valley, PA, which will enable volume production to meet customers'needs for a secure and continuous source of supply.
"CENiX is successful because we are focused on executing and delivering subsystems that offer an unbeatable combination of integration, density, and capacity," stated Ed Coringrato, Vice President of Finance and Business Development. "In one of the most difficult financing environments in recent history, CENiX has been able to raise a substantial amount of funding by offering a compelling value proposition backed by a solid business plan. We believe this combination will continue our current success in a challenging marketplace."
