Telecom Transport Management Raises $20M Debt Facility from Columbia Partners Private Capital
Company will use financing to expand wireless backhaul networks
SEATTLE, Wash.- May 20, 2008 - Telecom Transport Management Inc. (TTM), a provider of advanced voice and data transport backhaul solutions for wireless carriers, today announced it has raised a $20 million senior debt facility from Columbia Partners Private Capital. TTM will use the funds to finance the continued expansion of its intelligent, high capacity backhaul networks and for other working capital needs. The $20 million supplements the $140 million of equity financing that has been invested in or committed to TTM.
"Columbia Partners' strong financial support during a time when the capital markets are strained is a validation of TTM's business," said Mark Hamilton, President and CEO of TTM. "This debt facility along with our recently completed equity round provides TTM with the resources we need to expand our current networks and move into new markets where we identify opportunities with our customers."
TTM currently serves several national and regional wireless carriers in the U.S. The company is managing and constructing wireless backhaul networks in Richmond and Norfolk, Virginia, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Central and Eastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware.
"As the need grows for wireless backhaul in the U.S., TTM has made smart investments bringing on new operator customers and building networks were there is tremendous demand," said Tom Bain of Columbia Partners Private Capital. "The executive team lead by Mark Hamilton has decades of experience in the wireless industry and we are pleased to be a partner with TTM to help it deliver on the growing demand for its business."
TTM's current investors include SeaPoint Ventures, Ignition Partners, Trilogy Equity Partners, Rally Capital, Columbia Capital, Battery Ventures, DCM, Highside Capital Management and T-Mobile Venture Fund.
About Telecom Transport Management:
Telecom Transport Management offers wireless carriers a comprehensive, best in class solution that is more cost effective, reliable, flexible and manageable than current transport solutions in the industry. The company builds, owns and operates protected, fully managed state of the art backhaul networks for its carrier customers. These are end-to-end, high speed, high capacity hybrid microwave and fiber networks, connecting hundreds of cell sites in each market to the wireless carriers’ switching centers. TTM currently serves several national and regional wireless carriers, helping them meet their increasing bandwidth requirements at a level of performance and price historically unavailable in the wireless market. As those requirements continue to grow at an exponential pace with the introduction and adoption of data-rich 3G and 4G offerings, TTM will be a backhaul carrier of choice for the wireless industry.
About Columbia Partners Private Capital:
Columbia Partners Private Capital is the direct investment unit of Columbia Partners, L.L.C. Investment Management, a Washington, D.C. based registered investment advisor managing over $3 billion. The firm’s clients are Public, Taft Hartley, and Corporate pension funds. Columbia Partners Private Capital makes structured finance investments in mid-to-later stage growth companies, with a particular industry focus on the information technology, telecom, media, health care, and alternative energy sectors. For more information visit the Private Capital website at www.columbiaprivatecapital.com
Media Contact:
Jeff Fishburn
OnPR for TTM
Phone: 503.802.4408
E mail: jefff@onpr.com