I guess Softbank missed ZSUN: "ASIA ONLINE RECEIVES $35 MILLION VENTURE CAPITAL FINANCING FROM
J.P. Morgan Syndicate; New Funding to Support Pacific
Rim Expansion
Business Editors/High Tech Writers
WALNUT CREEK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--August 10, 1999--Asia
Online, the Softbank Group's Asia-based Internet Service Provider
(ISP), today announced the closing of US$35 million in private equity
financing from a J.P. Morgan-led syndicate.
Joining J.P. Morgan in the syndicate are Pequot Capital, GE
Equity, Softbank Technology Ventures, Nexus Capital Partners and
Concentric Network.
The new capital will fund Asia Online's acquisitions of
Internet-related companies to create a network of businesses providing
high quality Internet-solutions for corporate users throughout the
Pacific Rim.
The company will seek to continue the success it has achieved in
Hong Kong, where it is firmly established as the leading independent
ISP. Outside Hong Kong, Asia Online has already captured the
leadership position in the Philippine Web development market, and
recently opened operations in Walnut Creek, California as the base for
its Americas sales and marketing efforts.
The Internet pioneer, established in early 1995, is now set to
extend its success around the Asia Pacific region through strategic
acquisitions of a range of Internet-related entities, including ISPs,
online service providers, web developers and web hosting companies. It
is also proceeding to build new data centers and other facilities to
help support the anticipated growth in demand for Internet-related
services.
"With Softbank's backing of our initial plan to expand Asia
Online's geographic coverage earlier this year, we have made
significant progress in identifying growth opportunities," said Asia
Online Chief Executive Kevin Randolph. "Now, with this J.P. Morgan-led
syndicate behind us, there will be no stopping our drive to build the
first Internet solutions company providing the convenience and
efficiencies of the Web throughout Asia, as well as to people outside
Asia wanting to do business with the region."
"To put this investment in a historical context, it is
interesting to note that J.P. Morgan, which funded the expansion of
the distribution system of the 1800's, the railroads, is now
supporting the expansion of the distribution system of the 21st
century, the Internet," said Randolph.
According to Randolph, the involvement of Concentric -- one of
the world's foremost providers of value-added IP network applications
and services -- will be of great strategic importance as Asia Online
expands its presence throughout Asia. Meanwhile, Pequot Capital, GE
Capital, and Nexus Capital add tremendous financial credibility to the
organization.
Besides expanding Asia Online's geographic scope, Randolph said
the additional funds would also go towards enhancing existing services
and bringing new, high-value products on stream. Each of these will
fit into the company's objective of providing corporate customers with
a full range of Internet business productivity tools, he said. Many of
these products and services will be acquired from sister companies
within the Softbank Group, which now includes more than 80
Internet-related entities -- among them Yahoo, E-Trade(a),
Buy.com, Comdex, ZDNet, Verisign, Interliant and Net2Phone.
"The strength of the management team that has been assembled to
take Asia Online through this next phase of development is
impressive," said Karl Fooks, Vice President of J.P. Morgan
International Capital Corporation, the private equity investing arm of
the global financial services firm, J.P. Morgan. "Mr. Randolph has
brought together a very high caliber group of experienced
professionals from around the world, which gives us strong confidence
in Asia Online's plan to provide services to those who wants to
conduct business in or with Asia. We are moreover very excited to be
part of the team with Softbank."
The Asia Online board of directors is comprised of co-chairmen
Scott Russell and Brad Feld from Softbank Technology Ventures; Henry
Nothhaft, CEO of Concentric; and Randolph.
About Asia Online
Founded in 1995 in Hong Kong, Asia Online, Ltd. is the holding
company for Asia Online-Hong Kong, the pioneering Internet Service
Provider (ISP), and Asia Online-Philippines, the country's leading
Web site developer. It has recently established offices in Walnut
Creek, California, providing headquarters for the Company's Asia
Online-Americas operations. Asia Online currently offers a variety of
Internet-related services including dial-up, leased lines, ISDN,
roaming, web design & hosting, advertising and e-commerce. Through
partnerships with leading US Internet companies and internal
development, Asia Online plans to offer Internet-based communications
products to both international and domestic customers. These will
include voice-over-IP, Internet fax, digital signatures, certified
email to mention few.
Additional information about Asia Online is available at
www.asiaonline.net.
About J.P. Morgan Capital Corporation
Since 1982, J.P. Morgan Capital has invested approximately US$2.5
billion of J.P. Morgan's capital in over 260 companies worldwide.
Today, it is a leading private equity investor and one of the few
merchant banks with a truly global presence. This private equity
investment arm of the global financial services firm, J.P. Morgan,
continues to actively seek attractive investment opportunities in the
region through its office in Hong Kong. To date, it has made a number
of investments in the technology industry. It leverages its
affiliates' advisory, equity underwriting and equity research
capabilities to bring value-added services to its portfolio companies.
Additional information about J.P. Morgan group of companies is
available at www.jpmorgan.com.
About SOFTBANK Technology Ventures
SOFTBANK Technology Ventures is the venture capital arm of
SOFTBANK Holdings Inc., the holding company for all of SOFTBANK
Corporation's U.S.-based activities. SOFTBANK Holdings' major
operating companies include Ziff-Davis, Kingston Technology Company,
SOFTBANK Services Group, SOFTBANK Content Services and UT Starcom.
Through its affiliated ventures, SOFTBANK has made more than 100
investments in leading Internet companies. Additional information
about SOFTBANK Technology Ventures is available at www.sbvc.com
note(a): The correct spelling of the trade name E-trade has an
asterisk in place of the hyphen. Technical limitations require this
change for the transmission of this release." |
