Another Aussie high tech company sold: Sorrento Networks buys RBN

Stuart Corner
Monday, 02 June 2008 05:14

IT Industry - Deals

Sorrento Networks, a global provider of metro optical access solutions. has acquired the assets of optical networking technology company, Redfern Broadband Networks.

RBN was founded in 1999 as a spin-off from The Australian Photonics Co-operative Research Centre, but an undisclosed percentage had been sold to US venture funds prior to the sale to Sorrento. The acquisition includes all products, customer contracts, channel partner relationships, test equipment and more. Financial details were not disclosed.

RBN's GigaEdge Optical Services Provisioning Platforms (OSPP) is claimed to aggregate the many different services found at the edge of the network and solve the high-capacity optical upgrade needs of customers. RBN’s strategic partners include Embarq and Ericsson, and its customer base includes Alltel, PCCW Hong Kong and Siminn Telecom Iceland. The company claims to have over 100 customers in total.

Sorrento, a subsidiary of Zhone Technologies, said that the deal had expanded its metro optical access product portfolio to address customers' growing bandwidth needs in hardened, outside plant environments. "With the RBN GigaEdge product suite, Sorrento now offers a cost-effective solution for carriers to extend their fibre-based services closer to their customers. The companies' products are similarly designed to help telecommunications carriers and enterprises increase the bandwidth of their existing networks and lower the cost of providing next-generation broadband services."

Redfern moved its HQ to the US in 2000 with the aim of raising tens of millions of dollars for venture financing of a fully optical switch and later that year received $US21.5 million from US venture funds and $US6.5 million from Australian investors Allen & Buckeridge, Macquarie Technology Funds and its executives. Early in 2003 the same investors pumped in a further $US11 million.

The company appeared to be making good progress, signing a five year reseller deal for the GigaEdge in late 2004 with Marconi (now part of Ericsson). This was followed by a further $US9.5m of venture funding later that year, including a $US4.5m AusIndustry Start grant. The company has made no announcements of any kind since early 2006.

Jim Nevelle, CEO of Sorrento Networks, said: "By acquiring RBN's assets, we gain new, global customers, valuable channel partnerships in Europe and Asia and complementary optical platforms. The acquisition of RBN's proven optical technology strengthens our competitive edge." Graham Mitchell, CEO of RBN, said: "By joining forces, we can give our partners and customers access to broader support and deeper development capabilities that will support ever-evolving optical networking needs."