Broadband-over-powerline and energy management software and services provider BPL Global Ltd. has raised $23 million in a new round of financing for acquisitions and organic growth, Clean Technology Investor has learned.
"We've done a combination of growth equity, bank financing, and acquisition financing for a target that we are pursuing aggressively," said BPL Global Senior Vice President of Corporate Development, Peter Londa.
Investors in the latest round included new investor Cross Atlantic Capital Partners, and previous investors Morgan Stanley & Co.; the venture capital firm Novitas Capital; El Dorado Investment Co., a subsidiary of publicly traded Pinnacle West Capital Corp. that invests in energy companies, and IFA Group, a Kuwaiti investment firm.
In all, BPL Global raised $8 million in equity financing, took on another $7.5 million in debt from Bridge Bank, a subsidiary of San Jose, Calif.-based Bridge Capital Holdings Corp., and received a commitment from its Kuwaiti investors to provide an additional $7.5 million as a direct investment for the acquisition of one specific company.
Londa declined to comment on the technology or geographical location of the acquisition target, saying only that it would be used to expand his company's software product portfolio in the smart-grid market and geographical reach.
Sewickley, Pa.-based BPL Global already has offices across the U.S., as well as satellites in Brazil, China and France, Londa said.
In the past year, acquisitions has helped expand BPL Global beyond its initial product suite and moved the company into more sectors within the energy efficiency and smart-grid marketplace, according to Londa.
Earlier this year, BPL Global acquired the Plan B Solutions LLC, a developer of substation automation technology to electric utilities, and in January the company acquired Rochester, N.Y.-based Connected Energy Corp., a provider of demand-response and energy management software and services and Serveron Corp., which sells a technology that provides information on substations.
Londa said that the demand response business provided the bulk of BPL Global's revenue at approximately 60%, while the other two business lines, in substation automation and in-building networking and energy management technologies accounted for another 20% of revenue each. He declined to disclose specific revenue figures.
BPL Global counts Arizona Public Service Co., the utility arm of Pinnacle West Capital, as one of its largest customers in its transformer monitoring business, and Jersey Central Power & Light, a FirstEnergy Corp. subsidiary, among the largest of its demand management customers.
With 145 employees, BPL Global expects to reach profitability by the end of the year, according to an earlier interview with Chief Executive Officer Keith Schaefer.
http://www.bplglobal.net/
