Gimv strengthens its footprint in German speaking Europe

• Gimv invests in German communication technology company Ubidyne
• German IT expert Richard Seibt is appointed member of the Technology Advisory Board

Gimv invests USD 10 million in the series B financing round of German technology company Ubidyne. Gimv joins the syndicate of the existing investors Baytech, Doughty Hanson and TVM in this financing round totaling USD 43 million. The new capital will allow the company to accelerate its growth.

Founded in 2005, Ubidyne (www.ubidyne.com), a spin-out from Siemens, created the world’s first digital Antenna Embedded Radio system for base transceiver stations deployed in mobile communication networks. The company’s patent-pending technology significantly improves the operating economics of wireless networks. It reduces energy consumption, enables simple, flexible deployment, and increases the coverage and capacity of wireless networks. Ubidyne is based in Ulm, Germany and Scottsdale (AZ), USA.

Hansjörg Sage, Munich-based Partner of Gimv Technology, will join Ubidyne’s board of directors. He comments: “Gimv Technology focuses on game changing technology companies that can become global leaders. We believe Ubidyne is poised to dramatically revolutionize the wireless base station industry, a market of truly impressing dimensions, with its unique digital radio technology”.

In addition to this transaction, Gimv is pleased to announce that Richard Seibt, Chairman of the Open Source Business Foundation (OSBF), is joining the Technology Advisory Board. Richard Seibt has 30 years of international business experience in the IT industry, mainly in software and internet. Previously he was CEO of SuSE Linux AG, which he sold successfully to Novell, where he became President EMEA. Prior to that, he was a management board member at United Internet AG. He started his professional career at IBM where he held several management positions in Business Development and Sales and Marketing both in Germany and in other European countries. He is also board member of several, mainly European, software companies and acts as a business angel.

Since 2002 Gimv Technology can rely on the support of an Advisory Board, a committee consisting of high-profile international managers. They assist the Technology team in identifying market and investment opportunities and providing insights in strategic and operational matters.

“With his superb network and intimate knowledge of the open source software and internet sector, Richard is a great addition to the Advisory Board of Technology. His insights will be instrumental in the expansion of Gimv as a tier one European VC”, says Hansjörg Sage.

“Strengthening our footprint in German speaking Europe is an important step for Gimv. It underlines our ambition to become a leading player in this region,” he adds.