PowerDsine of Hod Hasharon yesterday announced that it had raised $30 million in a third round of financing. The round was led by DB Capital Venture Partners, the venture capital arm of Deutsche Bank, and was arranged by Robertson Stephens International.
DB Capital Venture Partners invested $15 million in the round. Other investors included Dain Rauscher Wessels Partners, Robertson Stephens Partners and several existing shareholders.
The company valuation was not disclosed. In November of 2001, “Globes” reported that PowerDsine was expected to raise $25 million in the third financing round at a company value of $100 million, after money. In its previous financing round in February 2000, $22 million was raised at a company value of $72 million.
PowerDsine said the funds would be used primarily to support the development of its Power over LAN (local area network) product line. Power over LAN is designed to enable the reliable delivery of operating power, together with voice and data, on standard LAN cables.
PowerDsine co-founder and CEO Igal Rotem said, "The financial commitment demonstrated by our new and existing investors underscores the value of our technology, our strong base of tier-one customers and our management team. This investment is a great achievement in the current market environment and gives us the resources to fully fund the growth, development and sales of our products while expanding our technology to different applications."
DB Capital Venture Partners managing director Michael Patton said, "Power over LAN is set to become an important technology as IP telephony and other network devices realize the need for a high-availability power supply.”
PowerDsine said Patton had joined its board of directors.
“As an active partner and lead investor, DB Capital Venture Partners brings specialised, strategic knowledge, in addition to its financial capital, that will enable PowerDsine to attain its full potential,” Patton added.
PowerDsine's current investors include Jerusalem Venture Partners, Steps Ventures, Clal , Poalim Capital Markets, Ampal, Vertex Israel, Gmulot (managing Bank Hapoalim provident funds), and the Challenge Fund -Etgar.
The company was founded in 1994 by Igal Rotem and Ilan Atias. PowerDsine's headquarters and R&D facilities are located in Hod Hasharon, Israel, near Tel Aviv. Its US subsidiary, PowerDsine, Inc., is based in Farmingdale, NY.
Published by Israel's Business Arena on 20 February, 2002