Deals

XACP invests $5m in Aran Technologies

Dublin-based Aran Technologies will use the financing to globalise its sales division and develop its software intellectual property.

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Cross Atlantic Capital Partners (XACP), which focuses on second round investment in the Irish technology sector, has invested $5m in second round financing in telecoms company Aran Technologies. The company will use the funding to globalise its sales division and further develop its software intellectual property.

XACP said it chose to fund Aran Technologies because it combined innovative technology development with a capable and proven management team operating in a high growth market.

Aran Technologies develops software intellectual property for the emerging third generation mobile telephony market and licenses the technology to network operators and telecom suppliers. The company plans to continue leveraging areas of critical expertise and the developing of strategic relationships in order to exploit the rapid growth that will occur in 3G. The business was set up in 1999 by Brendan McDonagh and Tom Morrisroe and now employs more than 55 people. It has strong relationships with Ericsson which is also a strategic investor. The company had revenues of almost E2m in 2000 and is based in Blackrock, Dublin and is establishing a global sales office in the UK.

Brendan MacDonagh, CEO of Aran Technologies, said: “This investment represents a strong endorsement of our business strategy when the climate for technology investments has become focused on sustainable commercial ventures. This second round funding will enable us to deliver foundation products to key beachhead customers and grow the industry expertise to formulate the next generation of wireless solutions”.

Justin Rea, principal of XACP, said: “We are very excited about the strategic partnership Aran Technologies brings to build on early mover deployment of 3G wireless infrastructure in Europe in order to develop solutions that can be scaled for commercialisation in the US market.”

XACP is a venture capital management firm focusing on second round investment in the Irish technology sector. XACP specialises in linking its portfolio companies with the IT and capital markets on both sides of the Atlantic. The company was established in 1999 and has offices in Ireland, England and the US.