Investment
Braveheart Investment Group plc
13 February 2008
13 February 2008
Braveheart Investment Group plc
('Braveheart' or the 'Group')
Investment in Elonics
Braveheart (AIM: BRH), the technology commercialisation and investment
management company, announces that it has led a £2 million funding round into
Livingston based Elonics Limited. Other investors included the Scottish Venture
Fund and private investors Sir Tom Farmer and Brian Souter.
Elonics was founded in 2003 and is the developer of 'DigitalTune', a flexible
radio tuner chip technology platform that can be configured to support different
standards and frequencies for a number of applications. Elonics' DigitalTune
technology will initially be used to develop the E4000 chip, a flexible TV tuner
for portable and handheld devices such as smart phones, laptops, etc.
The market for flexible tuner chips for mobile and handheld devices is currently
small but is predicted to grow rapidly over the next few years. Elonics has a
comprehensive patent portfolio that places it in a strong position to capitalise
on future developments in this fast evolving field.
The E4000 is currently undergoing prototype development and evaluation and the
funding is designed to provide working capital to enable Elonics to complete the
development of the product and take it to market by the third quarter of 2008.
Commenting on the investment, Geoffrey Thomson, Chief Executive of Braveheart
said, 'Elonics' DigitalTune technology will enable the company to provide a low
cost and flexible tuner chip that will place it in an ideal position to take
advantage of future growth in the market for mobile TV. The size of the
investment we have made demonstrates the confidence we have in the potential of
Elonics' technology and management and consolidates Braveheart's reputation as
one of the key supporters of innovation in this field.'
David Srodzinski, Chief Executive of Elonics, said; 'We have worked tirelessly
over the last 3 years to refine our platform CMOS multi-standard RF technology.
We have now moved from concept to successful evaluation at multiple prospect
sites throughout the world with a multi-standard Tuner product. The funding
comes at an excellent time for us as the markets are rapidly growing and
prospect feedback is very good indeed'.
Neil Ross, head of the Scottish Venture Fund, commented, 'Elonics is an
innovative Scottish company capable of becoming a world-leading business. The
Scottish Venture Fund co-invests alongside the private sector to encourage more
investment in these exciting, growing Scottish companies.'
For further information, contact:
Braveheart Investment Group Tavistock Communications (for Braveheart)
www.braveheart-ventures.co.uk
Geoffrey Thomson Rachel Drysdale
Chief Executive Simon Hudson
Tel: 01738 587555 T Tel: 020 7920 3150
rdrysdale@tavistock.co.uk
Elonics Limited Scottish Venture Fund/Scottish Enterprise
David Srodzinski Ruth Andrew, Scottish Enterprise
Chief Executive Tel: 0141 228 2717
Tel: 01506 402364 Mobile: 07768 615 154
ruth.andrew@scotent.co.uk
Notes to Editors
Braveheart was formed in 1997 by four Scottish businessmen as a co-investment
vehicle in order to pool their money and knowledge, increase diversification and
also reduce risk.
It makes investments in young, emerging, unlisted companies where there is
potential for significant growth, through the successful commercialistion of
their IP. Typically, Braveheart's investments are focused on British companies
with potential global technology solutions. However, the Group also maintains
limited exposure to more traditional businesses.
Braveheart's portfolio ranges from start-up companies to businesses which are
close to an IPO or sale. Each year out of several hundred business plans
received, around ten investments are made, all of which demonstrate attractive
exit potential. These opportunities emanate from Braveheart's network of
contacts, which includes the Group's own clients, and close relationships with
science parks and universities. Braveheart has formal relationships with seven
universities and two business parks, giving it unique access to IP and start-up
companies emanating from them.
About Elonics
Elonics was founded in September 2003 to specialise in the development of RF/
Mixed Signal silicon chips for global high-volume markets.
Elonics RF IC's are the most cost-effective in the market today. This is because
all of our products are designed using sub-0.13um geometry CMOS technology and
use the DigitalTune approach to deliver additional cost, power, performance and
size advantages over competitors products.
E4000 family of tuner ICs, enables efficient access to mobile TV over a wide
variety of standards such as DVB-T, ISDB-T, T-DMB, DVB-H, ISDB-H (OneSeg),
DMB-T, DAB and FM Radio. With its state of the art RF solutions Elonics is
committed to enabling 'TV anytime anywhere'. www.elonics.com
About the Scottish Venture Fund
The Scottish Venture Fund provides investments of up to £2m per transaction in
partnership with the private sector on at least a matched funding basis in
syndicated transactions, typically, between £2m and £10m. Further information on
Scottish Enterprise investments is available at www.scottish-enterprise.com/
equity.
About Scottish Enterprise
Scottish Enterprise is the main economic development agency for Scotland
covering 93% of the population from Grampian to the Borders. The Scottish
Enterprise Network consists of Scottish Enterprise and 12 Local Enterprise
Companies. Working in partnership with the private and public sectors the
Network aims to build more and better businesses, to develop the skills and
knowledge of Scottish people, and to encourage innovation to make Scottish
business internationally competitive. Further information on Scottish
Enterprise is available at www.scottish-enterprise.com
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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