Leading ISP Company Purchased By West Coast Capital Group
In a strategic move to strengthen an already prosperous company, NeoNova Network Services, the industry leader in managed IP services for telcos, municipal organizations and cable companies, has been purchased by an investment consortium lead by Azure Capital Partners and Bridgescale Partners.
NeoNova Network Services was a division of Digitel Inc., following a divestiture in 1999 from Nortel. Digitel, a reseller of telecommunications equipment, successfully directed NeoNova’s growth to become the leading Internet service provider serving the U.S. rural telephone and cable service providers.
“NeoNova is better positioned than ever to expand our product and service offerings to existing customers and to grow our customer footprint nationwide,” commented NeoNova CEO Warren Lee about the purchase. “We are excited with what we have achieved to date, but the prospects for the future are even brighter. Given the experience and investment success that both Azure and Bridgescale have achieved in the telecommunications industry, we are looking forward to the strategic value they both will add as our business continues its growth.
"We have an unprecedented opportunity to bring a breadth and quality of world-class services to our customers not before seen in this market” continued Lee. “We will be able to leverage the experience our new owners have had in serving outstanding companies like Calix, Proofpoint, and World Wide Packets."
Azure Capital Partners and Bridgescale Partners are successful investors who target early-stage information technology companies that have the opportunity for growth or transformative industry impact. Ray Carey, Partner at Azure Capital Partners, who joined the board of directors in conjunction with the acquisition, said Warren and his team have done an outstanding job building a fast growing, profitable business.
“Going forward, we see the opportunity to change the game of communications services in much the same way that software as a service has already transformed the enterprise software market,” added Carey. “We believe that NeoNova has the platform, the leadership team, and the vision to expand its managed service offerings across multiple customer sets and geographies."
Neonova also announced the appointments of Azure General Partner Paul Weinstein and Bridgescale General Partners Rob Chaplinsky and Matthew Cowan to join current CEO Warren Lee on NeoNova's board of directors.
"We are delighted to be investors in NeoNova and look forward to providing the necessary capital, strategic advice, and business relationships into the company so that NeoNova can become the obvious ISP of choice for any independent communication service provider," said Chaplinsky of Bridgescale Partners.
Alongside Azure and Bridgescale, Hercules Technology Growth Capital also participated in the investment.
About NeoNova
NeoNova is an industry leader in managed IP services that enable service providers to offer premium Web 2.0 integrated communications, superior customer support and professional services, and advanced subscriber and network management services. NeoNova provides a future-proof platform with a comprehensive suite of applications and value-added services that allow service providers to become a best-in-class ISP in less time with a greater ROI. For more information, please visit www.neonova.net.
About Azure Capital Partners
Azure Capital Partners is a San Francisco, California-based venture capital firm focused on innovative companies with the potential to become dominant technology platform providers in major industries. Founded in 2000, Azure began with the goal of identifying, investing in, and supporting next generation infrastructure technology companies. To that end, Azure has maintained its clear focus and has a successful history in funding and supporting winning technologies and business models. Azure's extensive network of relationships with senior executives in key industries provides unique access for business acceleration.
About Bridgescale Partners
Bridgescale is a Menlo Park, California-based investment firm with deep vertical expertise in consumer Internet, digital media, semiconductors, communications hardware, software and related services. Through their years of investing, advising and operating, Bridgescale has built a broad global network spanning the entire information technology industry ecosystem. Their proven team has a distinguished track record of company building and investment success, combining operational and domain expertise typical of early-stage investing with the financial and capital markets expertise essential for mid-to late-stage companies. Bridgescale has more than 75 combined years of operational, venture capital and investment banking experience and invests in technology companies that require equity to accelerate growth. The additional capital is used to scale businesses to their full potential by maximizing organic growth opportunities, acquiring other assets, entering new markets, and spinning out from a parent corporation.