REDFERN
INTEGRATED OPTICS, INC. (RIO) RAISES ADDITIONAL FUNDING, BRINGING
SERIES C TOTAL TO $8.4 MILLION
Company Maintains Steady Growth Path with Strong Financial
Support
Santa Clara, Calif. -
December 13, 2005 - Redfern Integrated Optics, Inc. (RIO), a developer and
manufacturer of low-cost, high-performance optical transmitters
for telecommunications, data transmission and other markets,
today announced that it has secured an additional $2.2 million
from GE Capital Equity Investments and Jolimont Ventures – bringing the total
amount raised to $8.4 million. This additional financial support
finalizes RIO’s third round of funding, which completed
its first close at $6.2 million in July, and was led by Advent
International, Tallwood Venture Capital, TMT Ventures and Redfern
Photonics. In connection with the new financing, Stephen Ezekiel
of GE Commercial Finance joined RIO’s board of directors.
“We are pleased to close this round with the additional
financing provided by new equity investors,” said Radu
Barsan, president and CEO of RIO. “RIO is in an excellent
position to meet the exacting requirements of our customers
in the communications industry and deliver on its product roadmap – starting
with 40/80km and DWDM cost-effective 10Gbps transmitters.”
According to a recent report from CIR,
a market research and consulting firm based in Charlottesville,
VA, the market for 10-Gbps ports on telecommunications and
data communications equipment will grow from $2.1 billion
in 2006, to $4.8 billion by 2010. This will represent growth
from 221,000 ports to 1.6 million ports shipped over the
same period, as 10 GigE follows earlier Ethernet technologies
into its "mass market" phase.
“RIO is bringing an alternative and superior technology
to an industry in dire need of highperformance, low-cost component
solutions,” said Stephen Ezekiel, senior vice-president
GE Commercial Finance Asia. “We look forward to working
with the company as it grows revenue and gains market share.”
Funding from this round will enable RIO to complete the development
and qualification of its first line of products, broaden its
product portfolio, diversify its customer base and markets
served, and accelerate its manufacturing capabilities.
“The progress made by RIO and its Sydney subsidiary
in commercializing a viable and costeffective solution for
metro optical networks at 10Gbps is impressive,” said
Lex McArthur, partner at Jolimont Ventures. “As the number
of 10Gbps ports increases over the next couple of years, RIO
is poised for a substantial market opportunity.”
About RIO Inc.
RIO (Redfern Integrated Optics, Inc.) develops and manufactures
optical transmitters based on proprietary planar technology,
which enable transceivers and transponders to deliver telecom-grade
performance with datacom economics. RIO's product line includes
10Gb/s 40/80km directly modulated TOSAs meeting the XMD MSA
package requirements, with DWDM wavelength stability, at
low cost and with low power dissipation. RIO has demonstrated
and is productizing the world's first 1550nm 10G commercial
laser that employs directly modulated planar-based hybrid
laser technology, meeting the reach and stringent performance
requirements (SONET) of Telecom OEMs. RIO's laser design
also meets the small size, low power and low cost requirements
of all 10G hot pluggable module MSAs including XFP.
For more information, please visit www.rio-inc.com.
About GE Commercial Finance
GE Commercial Finance is the business-to-business finance unit
of General Electric. With deep industry expertise and lending,
leasing and financing services of every kind, GE Commercial
Finance plays a key role in helping its customers grow. Conducting
business in 35 countries, GE Commercial Finance has assets
of more than US$230 billion and is headquartered in Stamford,
Connecticut, USA. General Electric (NYSE: GE) is Imagination
at Work - a diversified technology, media and financial services
company focused on solving some of the world's toughest problems.
For more information, please visit www.gecommercialfinance.com.
About Jolimont Ventures
Jolimont Ventures is an Australian venture fund manager focusing
on direct secondary transactions in technology companies
with potentially disruptive technologies. Their approach
is to negotiate transactions in and then move into active
management mode to help the underlying investee companies
realize their full potential. Often this will involve the
provision of further capital.
For more information, please visit www.jolimontventures.com.au.
>Download
the Press Release (PDF)
For More Information, contact
Radu Barsan, President and CEO
408-970-3500 ext.350 |
