Essex Corporation Receives $2M in Private Placement Funding From Networking Ventures, L.L.C. and Global Environment Fund; Essex to Use Funding to Commercialize Key Leading-Edge Optical Technologies
9/7/2000
COLUMBIA, Md., Sep 7, 2000 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Essex Corporation (OTC Bulletin Board: ESEX.OB), an optical engineering firm developing breakthrough technologies in Hyperfine Wave Division Multiplexing (HWDM) and Optical Code Division Multiple Access receivers (O-CDMA), today announced that it will receive a total of $2 million in private funding from Networking Ventures, L.L.C. and Global Environment Fund. Essex will use this funding to drive the commercialization of its leading-edge optical technologies and to augment its core team of optical engineers. The technologies Essex is creating are the result of more than 10 years of experience in photonics by a dedicated team of 17 optical engineers with 300 years of cumulative experience working at the highest level for the U.S. government and commercial customers.
"I have been aware of Essex's considerable optical computing and telecommunications team for some time and was eager to find an opportunity to work with them," said John Hannon, principal at Networking Ventures, L.L.C. "Harry Letaw, former Essex CEO, assembled the finest core team of optical engineers I have ever come across. He did a tremendous job of retaining this team and positioning Essex for the time when photonics and telecommunications came together."
"Global Environment Fund's technology group has focused on opportunities in photonics as a major new investment priority for several years. As such, we are very impressed with the technical strengths of Essex, and the company's contributions at the highest levels to the U.S. government," said H. Jeffrey Leonard, President of Global Environment Fund. "We are thrilled to be able to provide resources to fuel the company's commercial rollout."
"Global Environment Fund believes that Essex has a backlog of patentable technologies that will help make fiber optic transmission for telecommunications, the Internet and entertainment networks faster, more efficient and more cost-effective," Leonard continued. "We think the Essex team led by Chief Technical Officer Terry Turpin can play a major role in delivering technologies and solutions to companies engaged in building optical networks."
"Essex is very pleased to have Networking Ventures and Global Environment Fund as our new partners. This investment not only unleashes the formidable talents of the Essex technical team, it adds expertise at the Board level," said Len Moodispaw, President and CEO of Essex. "Essex has already benefited from the enthusiasm and contacts of Networking Ventures and Global Environment Fund. I have known John Hannon for many years and look forward to continuing our association as Essex moves ahead."
Under the terms of the Networking Ventures and Global Environment Fund private placement, Essex will receive $1 million at closing and will receive an additional $1 million over the next 12 months. Essex, Networking Ventures and Global Environment Fund have signed definitive documents for the private placement and expect the transaction to close within the next week. The investor group will receive convertible preferred stock with voting rights, subject to certain terms and conditions, equivalent to 51% of all shares voting on all stockholder matters for a 2 year period. As part of the private placement agreement, John Hannon and Caroline Pisano, the founders of Networking Ventures, L.L.C., and H. Jeffrey Leonard, President of Global Environment Fund, were named to the Essex Board of Directors.
About Networking Ventures
Networking Ventures, L.L.C. is a privately held company dedicated to investing in and guiding technology companies operating in the expanding optical and information security sector. Networking Ventures was founded in early 2000 by John Hannon, former CEO and founder of Pulse Engineering, Inc., and by Caroline Pisano, the former CFO of Pulse Engineering, Inc. who is a certified public accountant and attorney specializing in mergers and acquisitions. Under Hannon's leadership, Pulse Engineering, Inc. specialized in information security and signals processing.
About Global Environment Fund
Global Environment Fund (GEF) is a Washington, DC-based international investment management firm that was established in 1989. GEF's venture capital fund, GEF Strategic Technology Fund, L.P., invests in high-growth firms in three key technology areas: intelligent systems; optical technologies; and information security. In total, GEF currently manages five equity investment funds whose aggregate capital exceeds $350 million.
About Essex
Founded in 1969 with headquarters in Columbia, MD, Essex (OTC Bulletin Board: ESEX.OB) is an experienced and respected optical and communication engineering company that designs and builds creative solutions for complex problems. With a core team of 17 optical engineers, Essex develops high-speed opto-electronic processors for imaging, signal processing and communications systems, and supplies advanced processing and satellite communications engineering for the government including the Department of Defense and for private industry.
For more information contact Essex Corporation, 9150 Guilford Road, Columbia MD 21046; phone 301-939-7000; fax 301-953-7880; e-mail ir@essexcorp.com, or on the Web at www.essexcorp.com.
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The Company's actual results could differ materially from those discussed in or implied by such forward-looking statements. Factors that might cause such differences include but are not limited to the ability of Essex Corporation to raise necessary development funds, enter into strategic relationships with key industry participants, develop and build opto-electronics devices and protect and defend its intellectual property, and changes in technology, technical obsolescence, changes in customer needs, new product developments, competitive factors in the industry and uncertainty of market acceptance.
SOURCE Essex Corporation |
