REDMOND, Wash.-Metawave Communications Corp. closed a $91 million round of private equity financing, the largest private equity amount raised by an equipment manufacturer during first-quarter 1999, according to the MoneyTree survey conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers, said Metawave.
Proceeds from the financing will be used to accelerate marketing and deployment of the company’s Code Division Multiple Access smart antenna systems; to fund product development for Global System for Mobile communications networks; and to establish a global market presence with expansion into Asia and Latin America. Metawave also said it used a portion of the proceeds to retire $33 million in senior debt issued in April 1998.
Charles Froland, managing director of General Motors Investment Management Corp., said Metawave’s smart antenna technology provides a cost-effective means of increasing wireless bandwidth.
“There are many trends driving this need for more wireless capacity-one-rate calling plans, wireless data and Internet services, the predicted doubling in wireless users by 2003-and Metawave is well-positioned to take advantage of these market opportunities,” Froland said.
Lead investor in the round was Oak Investment Partners, a Palo Alto, Calif.-based venture capital firm. Other investors included Sevin Rosen Funds, Venrock Associates, Integral Capital Partners, Worldview Technology Partners, Bowman Capital Management, Merrill Lynch and General Motors Management Corp.
Total investment in the company now exceeds $140 million, said Metawave.
