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Datum nieuwsfeit: 26-09-2006
Rebtel ontvangt 20 miljoen dollar Series A-financiering
( BW)(REBTEL-NETWORKS) Rebtel Dials up $20 Million in Series A Funding
Business Editors/High-Tech Writers
STOCKHOLM, Sweden--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 26, 2006--Rebtel
Networks AB, the new voice services company offering unlimited
international calling from mobile phones for just $1 per week, today
announced it has received $20 million in Series A funding from Index
Ventures and Benchmark Capital. The funds will be used to advance
Rebtel's rapid growth, expand business development and marketing
efforts, and accelerate expansion into more countries around the
world.
Founded in January 2006 by Hjalmar Winbladh and Jonas Lindroth,
Rebtel's objective from the start has been to create a genuinely good,
honest, and trustworthy global voice services company that saves its
customers money.
The company's services allow registered users to create local
phone numbers for themselves and their friends abroad. For example, a
person in San Francisco gets a San Francisco phone number to call
their friend in London, and the friend in London gets a London phone
number to call the person in San Francisco. By connecting the local
calls over the Internet using VoIP technology, Rebtel lets consumers
bypass the excessive international fees charged by mobile carriers.
Today, Rebtel services may be used by residents in more than 35
countries.
"We were impressed by the momentum that Rebtel has amassed since
its Beta launched at the end of June," said Danny Rimer, Index general
partner who joins Rebtel's board. "Now out of Beta, it is highly
possible that Rebtel can create a sea change in the telecom market."
Johan Brenner, Benchmark's partner, who also joins Rebtel's board,
said the team at Rebtel is both revolutionary and visionary. "They're
clearly capable of building something that lasts; something that
actually drives fundamental change in the telecom market," he said.
Added Benchmark partner, Peter Fenton: "We instantly recognized
the power of Rebtel to transform mobile communications to deliver
consumers the freedom they have come to expect on the Internet. We are
thrilled to help the team realize their vision to deliver a truly
consumer-oriented voice services company."
For Rebtel, the decision to accept outside investment was
primarily about the people who will join the company as advisors and
partners in the business, said Winbladh, who with Lindroth, co-founded
Sendit AB in 1994, a pioneering mobile Internet software company they
took public before it was acquired by Microsoft Corp. "For our market,
we're getting a dream team with investors like Index and Benchmark,"
he said.
About Rebtel
Rebtel Networks AB is a new global voice services company for
individuals, micro-business professionals, and cord-cutters inside
small and large businesses, who regularly call international
suppliers, customers, partners, their workforce, or friends and family
abroad. Unlike the large mobile telecom carriers that charge
exorbitant rates to recoup their high costs, Rebtel offers consumers
ultra low rates for global calling by making all calls local.
For more information, and to start using Rebtel services, go to
www.rebtel.com.
About Index Ventures
Index Ventures is a leading European venture capital firm active
in technology venture investing since 1996. The firm is dedicated to
helping top entrepreneurial teams in the Information Technology and
Life Science sectors build their companies into market defining global
leaders. The firm has offices in Geneva, London and Jersey and focuses
its investment activity primarily on Europe and Israel. Investments
include Betfair (the world's largest betting exchange); Skype
(recently acquired by eBay); MySQL (the world's most popular open
source database); Photoways (Europe's largest online photo-processing
service) and Lovefilm (Europe's largest DVD rental business).
For more information, please visit www.indexventures.com.
About Benchmark Capital
Benchmark Capital is a leading international venture capital firm,
focused on helping talented entrepreneurs build great technology
companies which are focused on long-term growth. Managing more than
US$3 billion in committed venture capital, Benchmark's partners take
an active, team-oriented approach to venture investing.
The firm was founded in the US (Silicon Valley) in 1995, the
European office opened in London in 2000 and the Israeli office in
2001. Benchmark Capital Europe has two funds totaling US$875 million
and has made over 50 investments across a variety of geographies and
technology market sectors. The European funds include companies such
as Betfair (the world's largest online betting exchange), Setanta (the
leading pay-TV sports broadcaster), Bebo (the social networking site),
Alphyra (the leading pan European electronic payments provider) and
MySQL (the open-source database business). Other Benchmark investments
include eBay (Nasdaq:EBAY) and Red Hat (Nasdaq:RHAT).
For more information, please visit the website at
www.benchmark.com.
--30--DB/sf*
CONTACT: Rebtel AB
Greg Spector, 415-717-4666
greg@rebtel.com
or
Index Ventures
June Parina, 415-321-1872
june@sparkpr.com
or
Benchmark Capital
Elizabeth Skerritt, +44 (0)207 236 5615
elizabeth.skerritt@powerscourtmedia.com