ScoreBoard Notches Up US$25M Funding

SAN FRANCISCO (07/20/2000) - Wireless network management company ScoreBoard Inc. announced Thursday that it has raised US$25 million in its second round of venture capital funding. The company claims the amount is the largest raised in its particular market.

ScoreBoard provides software and services to assist wireless telecommunications carriers in optimizing their networks. The company collects measured network data from a carrier's network, puts the data through its analysis engine and enables carriers to carry out "what if" scenarios on the data in the area of network performance, reliability and capacity. The firm's software is also called ScoreBoard.

"We're giving a comprehensive service to wireless carriers, enabling them to increase their current capacity and quality and make effective plans for future capacity," said Richard Tennant, ScoreBoard chief financial officer, in a phone interview Thursday,The second round of financing was headed up by private equity investment firm Advent International and also included reinvestments by Mid-Atlantic Venture Funds, Anthem Capital LP and Kitty Hawk Capital who contributed to the ScoreBoard's first round of financing. In total, to date, the company has raised $30 million.

Tennant described the financing round as "smart money," with ScoreBoard hoping to leverage Advent's "proven track record in global telecommunications investment" along with the investment firm's international experience.

Advent manages venture capital funds for the likes of dominant Japanese carrier Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp. (NTT) and Telecom New Zealand. Douglas Kingsley, an Advent managing director, will serve on ScoreBoard's board of directors. Advent has around $4 billion under management and has financed more than 400 companies, over 115 of whom have gone public.

ScoreBoard intends to use the money it has raised to extend its operations outside the U.S., first to Europe towards the end of the year, Tennant said.

The company is looking to sign up its first international customers. Current carrier customers AT&T Corp. and Cellular One are deploying ScoreBoard software throughout their national wireless networks.

The firm's traditional focus is managing TDMA (time division multiple access) networks, but the company does have a CDMA (code division multiple access) prototype which Tenant said ScoreBoard intends to take further towards the end of this year.

ScoreBoard currently employs around 130 people, compared with July of last year, when it had 18 staff.

Tennant expects ScoreBoard to go public at some point as the company has need of an additional level of funding to support its growth. He expects the firm to have "revenue north of $50 million by 2001" which will then enable ScoreBoard to attain profitability.

ScoreBoard, based in Herndon, Virginia, can be reached at +1-703-713-9755 or via the Internet at http://www.scoreboardinc.com/.

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