RedMere, Fresco and Leading Investors Partner to Create Spectra7; Backed by $10 Million in New Equity
Poster: SySAdmin
Posted on July 17, 2012 at 8:28:01 AM
RedMere, Fresco and Leading Investors Partner to Create Spectra7; Backed by $10 Million in New Equity
New High Performance Analog Semiconductor Company Targeting Mobile Infrastructure and Consumer Markets
CORK, Ireland and TORONTO, Canada, July 17, 2012/PRNewswire/ --
RedMere Technology Limited and Fresco Microchip Inc. today announced that they have
entered into a definitive agreement to merge with Chrysalis Capital VIII Corporation to
create Spectra7 Microsystems, a soon to be publicly traded company on the TSX Venture
Exchange. Spectra7 will be a high performance analog semiconductor company focused on
delivering unprecedented bandwidth for mobile infrastructure and consumer products. The
company is expected to raise over $10 million in equity, including investments from
leading venture capital firms, such as Celtic House Venture Partners, EdgeStone Capital
Partners and Ventures West.
(Photo:
http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120717/543856-a )
(Logo:
http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120717/543856-b )
(Logo:
http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120717/543856-c )
(Logo:
http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120717/543856-d )
(Logo:
http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120717/543856-e )
Spectra7 Microsystems
Spectra7 is being formed to address the exponential demand for more bandwidth and
lower costs in mobile and internet infrastructure equipment, including handsets, tablets,
base stations and microwave backhaul systems. On the consumer side, this rapid increase in
bandwidth demand is driven by rich media, higher resolution displays, faster frame rates
and increasing smartphone and tablet adoption, which can only be delivered with new, high
performance, low power analog "signal conditioning" semiconductor devices. Aging telecom
infrastructure, originally architected for voice deployments needs smarter high
performance analog signal processing to accommodate the demand for media rich content
delivery.
Using technology developed by RedMere and Fresco, Spectra7 will be positioned to
provide new system level analog components that will deliver unprecedented bandwidth over
fiber and copper links and address the wireless bandwidth bottlenecks in the mobile
internet. The combination of both companies will result in a capital investment to date of
over $80 million, a significant portfolio of patents and development centers in four
countries.
"The mobile internet has an insatiable appetite for bandwidth - growing almost 20 fold
in the next four years, with connection speeds increasing 10 fold at the same time. As a
result, smartphones, tablets and the wireless infrastructure require new analog signal
processing technology." said Tony Stelliga the newly appointed CEO of RedMere. "Spectra7
captures this unprecedented opportunity with the unique combination of RedMere analog
products, Fresco wireless technologies and a new capital structure. Spectra7's access to a
broader capital base and its best in class wireline and wireless analog signal processing
capability will create a diversified, high growth analog company, attracting the
industry's best talent."
Management
RedMere and Fresco management will be expanded with the appointment of Tony Stelliga
as Spectra7's incoming President and CEO. Mr. Stelliga is currently CEO of RedMere and is
a member of the Board of Directors of both RedMere and Fresco. Mr. Stelliga was formerly
the Chairman and CEO of Quellan, a leading developer of high performance Analog
Semiconductors until it was acquired by Intersil Corporation in 2009. Prior to his roles
at Quellan and Intersil, Mr. Stelliga held senior management and strategic positions at
Intel Corporation following Intel's acquisition of Softcom Microsystems in 1999, a high
performance semiconductor company he founded and acted as Chairman and CEO. Mr. Stelliga
has also held Vice-President and General Manager positions at LSI Logic Corporation and
Newbridge Microsystems prior to its spinout as Tundra Semiconductor. Mr. Stelliga has
served on the Board of Q-Sound Corporation, a publicly traded company, and holds 20 US
Patents.
New Capital
Spectra7 is expected to raise over $10 million of equity financing from new and
existing RedMere and Fresco investors, including Celtic House Venture Partners, EdgeStone
Capital Partners and Ventures West.
"The combination of RedMere and Fresco to create Spectra7 is in line with Celtic
House's long-term investment strategy of leveraging the core competencies in our target
regions to develop platform technology companies," said Brian Antonen, Partner at Celtic
House. "Media, and in specific video, is the primary reason we see network congestion
today, and is a real growth opportunity. Spectra7 will bring well-funded, best-in-class
technology and experienced management to this new high growth market."
Structure
Under the terms of the definitive agreement, Chrysalis VIII, a Capital Pool Company,
will acquire all of the issued and outstanding shares in the capital of Fresco and all of
the issued and outstanding shares in the capital of RedMere. The transaction will be
structured in a manner to accommodate efficiencies for various legal structures, tax and
accounting treatments and securities regulations. At the closing of the transaction,
Chrysalis VIII shall be the "resulting issuer", with each of Fresco and RedMere becoming a
wholly-owned subsidiary of Chrysalis VIII.
The transaction is intended to result in a reverse take-over of Chrysalis VIII by
Spectra7 and its shareholders. It is intended that the transaction will constitute the
"Qualifying Transaction" of Chrysalis VIII as such term is defined in the Capital Pool
Companies Policy of the TSX Venture Exchange.
About RedMere Technology
RedMere provides complete active-cable solutions to cable industry leaders and
manufacturing partners. In a world where connection speed increases, RedMere enables easy
to use, high quality, smart connectivity for The Home, On the Move and The Office. These
new active cable systems deliver the ultimate in compact digital connectivity over HDMI,
DisplayPort and USB for Video and Still Cameras, Smartphones, HDTV, Blu-Ray DVD, PS3 and
Xbox, as well as enterprise solutions using Infiniband and PCI Express. The company is
headquartered in Cork, Ireland.
About Fresco Microchip
Fresco is a leader in RF, analog and digital semiconductors. The company's products
deliver Value Through Innovation(TM) by offering significantly lower system solution costs
at optimal performance. Fresco's patent-pending technology transcends a broad range of
consumer devices creating a fundamental paradigm shift in the television market. Millions
of Fresco's chips have shipped worldwide in thousands of TV models made by several leading
consumer electronic brands. The company is headquartered in Toronto, Canada with design
centers both in head office and Irvine, California.
About Celtic House Venture Partners
Celtic House Venture Partners is an independent Canadian investment firm. Since 1994,
Celtic House has been one of Canada's most active investors in technology and innovation.
Capitalizing on the deep domain expertise of its partners, Celtic House has consistently
provided superior financial returns to its investors. Celtic House has collaborated with
management teams and repeat entrepreneurs to develop technology companies from the
inception phase through to exit, generating over 20 initial public offerings and
successful acquisitions. From offices in Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa, Celtic House
manages over $425 million across three funds. For more information, visit
http://www.celtic-house.com.
About Chrysalis Capital VIII Corporation
Chrysalis Capital VIII Corporation is The Chrysalis Capital Group Inc.'s (TCCG) eighth
capital pool company (CPC). Chrysalis is entirely focused on generating superior
shareholder returns through the creation of a series of unique CPCs. To date, Chrysalis
has created eight Chrysalis branded CPCs and has assisted in the creation of four
additional CPCs under their partners program. For more information about TCCG, please
visit http://www.tccg.ca.
About Ventures West
Ventures West is one of Canada's oldest, largest and most established venture capital
firms and is a recognized market leader in innovative early-stage technology investing
with an established geographic and market presence across Canada. Since its founding in
1973, the Firm has operated eight venture capital funds, with total committed capital of
over $700 million. For more information, visit http://www.ventureswest.com.
Photo:
http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120717/543856-a
http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120717/543856-b
http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120717/543856-c
http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120717/543856-d
http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120717/543856-e
Source: RedMere Technology and Fresco Microchip
For more information, please contact: RedMere, Roisin FitzGerald, t : +353-21-483-8073, e: news@redmere.com, w: http://www.redmere.com. Fresco, Mike Gittings, +1-905-480-9109, news@frescomicrochip.com, http://www.frescomicrochip.com. Chrysalis Capital VIII Corporation, Robert Munro, CEO / CFO, t: +1-(877)-272-4073, e: contact@tccg.ca, w: http://www.tccg.ca
New High Performance Analog Semiconductor Company Targeting Mobile Infrastructure and Consumer Markets
CORK, Ireland and TORONTO, Canada, July 17, 2012/PRNewswire/ --
RedMere Technology Limited and Fresco Microchip Inc. today announced that they have
entered into a definitive agreement to merge with Chrysalis Capital VIII Corporation to
create Spectra7 Microsystems, a soon to be publicly traded company on the TSX Venture
Exchange. Spectra7 will be a high performance analog semiconductor company focused on
delivering unprecedented bandwidth for mobile infrastructure and consumer products. The
company is expected to raise over $10 million in equity, including investments from
leading venture capital firms, such as Celtic House Venture Partners, EdgeStone Capital
Partners and Ventures West.
(Photo:
http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120717/543856-a )
(Logo:
http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120717/543856-b )
(Logo:
http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120717/543856-c )
(Logo:
http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120717/543856-d )
(Logo:
http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120717/543856-e )
Spectra7 Microsystems
Spectra7 is being formed to address the exponential demand for more bandwidth and
lower costs in mobile and internet infrastructure equipment, including handsets, tablets,
base stations and microwave backhaul systems. On the consumer side, this rapid increase in
bandwidth demand is driven by rich media, higher resolution displays, faster frame rates
and increasing smartphone and tablet adoption, which can only be delivered with new, high
performance, low power analog "signal conditioning" semiconductor devices. Aging telecom
infrastructure, originally architected for voice deployments needs smarter high
performance analog signal processing to accommodate the demand for media rich content
delivery.
Using technology developed by RedMere and Fresco, Spectra7 will be positioned to
provide new system level analog components that will deliver unprecedented bandwidth over
fiber and copper links and address the wireless bandwidth bottlenecks in the mobile
internet. The combination of both companies will result in a capital investment to date of
over $80 million, a significant portfolio of patents and development centers in four
countries.
"The mobile internet has an insatiable appetite for bandwidth - growing almost 20 fold
in the next four years, with connection speeds increasing 10 fold at the same time. As a
result, smartphones, tablets and the wireless infrastructure require new analog signal
processing technology." said Tony Stelliga the newly appointed CEO of RedMere. "Spectra7
captures this unprecedented opportunity with the unique combination of RedMere analog
products, Fresco wireless technologies and a new capital structure. Spectra7's access to a
broader capital base and its best in class wireline and wireless analog signal processing
capability will create a diversified, high growth analog company, attracting the
industry's best talent."
Management
RedMere and Fresco management will be expanded with the appointment of Tony Stelliga
as Spectra7's incoming President and CEO. Mr. Stelliga is currently CEO of RedMere and is
a member of the Board of Directors of both RedMere and Fresco. Mr. Stelliga was formerly
the Chairman and CEO of Quellan, a leading developer of high performance Analog
Semiconductors until it was acquired by Intersil Corporation in 2009. Prior to his roles
at Quellan and Intersil, Mr. Stelliga held senior management and strategic positions at
Intel Corporation following Intel's acquisition of Softcom Microsystems in 1999, a high
performance semiconductor company he founded and acted as Chairman and CEO. Mr. Stelliga
has also held Vice-President and General Manager positions at LSI Logic Corporation and
Newbridge Microsystems prior to its spinout as Tundra Semiconductor. Mr. Stelliga has
served on the Board of Q-Sound Corporation, a publicly traded company, and holds 20 US
Patents.
New Capital
Spectra7 is expected to raise over $10 million of equity financing from new and
existing RedMere and Fresco investors, including Celtic House Venture Partners, EdgeStone
Capital Partners and Ventures West.
"The combination of RedMere and Fresco to create Spectra7 is in line with Celtic
House's long-term investment strategy of leveraging the core competencies in our target
regions to develop platform technology companies," said Brian Antonen, Partner at Celtic
House. "Media, and in specific video, is the primary reason we see network congestion
today, and is a real growth opportunity. Spectra7 will bring well-funded, best-in-class
technology and experienced management to this new high growth market."
Structure
Under the terms of the definitive agreement, Chrysalis VIII, a Capital Pool Company,
will acquire all of the issued and outstanding shares in the capital of Fresco and all of
the issued and outstanding shares in the capital of RedMere. The transaction will be
structured in a manner to accommodate efficiencies for various legal structures, tax and
accounting treatments and securities regulations. At the closing of the transaction,
Chrysalis VIII shall be the "resulting issuer", with each of Fresco and RedMere becoming a
wholly-owned subsidiary of Chrysalis VIII.
The transaction is intended to result in a reverse take-over of Chrysalis VIII by
Spectra7 and its shareholders. It is intended that the transaction will constitute the
"Qualifying Transaction" of Chrysalis VIII as such term is defined in the Capital Pool
Companies Policy of the TSX Venture Exchange.
About RedMere Technology
RedMere provides complete active-cable solutions to cable industry leaders and
manufacturing partners. In a world where connection speed increases, RedMere enables easy
to use, high quality, smart connectivity for The Home, On the Move and The Office. These
new active cable systems deliver the ultimate in compact digital connectivity over HDMI,
DisplayPort and USB for Video and Still Cameras, Smartphones, HDTV, Blu-Ray DVD, PS3 and
Xbox, as well as enterprise solutions using Infiniband and PCI Express. The company is
headquartered in Cork, Ireland.
About Fresco Microchip
Fresco is a leader in RF, analog and digital semiconductors. The company's products
deliver Value Through Innovation(TM) by offering significantly lower system solution costs
at optimal performance. Fresco's patent-pending technology transcends a broad range of
consumer devices creating a fundamental paradigm shift in the television market. Millions
of Fresco's chips have shipped worldwide in thousands of TV models made by several leading
consumer electronic brands. The company is headquartered in Toronto, Canada with design
centers both in head office and Irvine, California.
About Celtic House Venture Partners
Celtic House Venture Partners is an independent Canadian investment firm. Since 1994,
Celtic House has been one of Canada's most active investors in technology and innovation.
Capitalizing on the deep domain expertise of its partners, Celtic House has consistently
provided superior financial returns to its investors. Celtic House has collaborated with
management teams and repeat entrepreneurs to develop technology companies from the
inception phase through to exit, generating over 20 initial public offerings and
successful acquisitions. From offices in Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa, Celtic House
manages over $425 million across three funds. For more information, visit
http://www.celtic-house.com.
About Chrysalis Capital VIII Corporation
Chrysalis Capital VIII Corporation is The Chrysalis Capital Group Inc.'s (TCCG) eighth
capital pool company (CPC). Chrysalis is entirely focused on generating superior
shareholder returns through the creation of a series of unique CPCs. To date, Chrysalis
has created eight Chrysalis branded CPCs and has assisted in the creation of four
additional CPCs under their partners program. For more information about TCCG, please
visit http://www.tccg.ca.
About Ventures West
Ventures West is one of Canada's oldest, largest and most established venture capital
firms and is a recognized market leader in innovative early-stage technology investing
with an established geographic and market presence across Canada. Since its founding in
1973, the Firm has operated eight venture capital funds, with total committed capital of
over $700 million. For more information, visit http://www.ventureswest.com.
Photo:
http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120717/543856-a
http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120717/543856-b
http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120717/543856-c
http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120717/543856-d
http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120717/543856-e
Source: RedMere Technology and Fresco Microchip
For more information, please contact: RedMere, Roisin FitzGerald, t : +353-21-483-8073, e: news@redmere.com, w: http://www.redmere.com. Fresco, Mike Gittings, +1-905-480-9109, news@frescomicrochip.com, http://www.frescomicrochip.com. Chrysalis Capital VIII Corporation, Robert Munro, CEO / CFO, t: +1-(877)-272-4073, e: contact@tccg.ca, w: http://www.tccg.ca