CAI Capital, Others Want To Bring Faster Internet To Planes
Dow Jones, LBO Wire, April 5, 2006
By Paul Ziobro
4/5/2006 — CAI Capital Management Co. and other investors are looking to make high-speed Internet in the sky faster and cheaper, investing $30.6 million in AeroSat Corp. to help the company develop a system that would do just that.
CAI was joined by AeroEquity Inc. and North Atlantic Capital in the deal. CAI and AeroEquity are new investors, while North Atlantic upped its stake in the Amherst, N.H.-based company.
The transaction allowed previous investors, including Black Bear Investments, Citizens Ventures, and Next Level Venture Partners, to decrease their stakes or exit their investment. These investors, together with North Atlantic Capital, provided $10 million in venture capital financing to AeroSat in 2003.
AeroSat makes antennas that allow corporate and commercial aircraft to receive satellite signals so passengers can watch television and connect to the Internet while in the air, said AeroSat Chief Executive William McNary. The company has a distribution agreement with aviation electronics company Rockwell Collins Inc.
The company is also developing a way for airplane passengers to connect their computers to the Internet without going through satellites. That makes for a faster and cheaper connection as it removes the cost of building satellites, McNary said. The patented AeroSat Network transmits wireless Internet signals from the ground directly to an airplane, which then relays the signal to other planes. AeroSat says on its Web site that it only takes seven airplanes to complete a network across the Atlantic Ocean.
Founded in 1997, AeroSat today has 33 employees. Financials were not disclosed, although McNary said that the business is profitable.
CAI Capital is currently investing out of its third fund, which closed with more than $375 million in 2005.
AeroEquity is a private investment firm based in Savannah, Ga., which invests in aviation- and aerospace-related companies. Its investments include aircraft management company Landmark Aviation, which is a portfolio company of the Carlyle Group, and airplane maintenance and repair company Standard Aero Ltd.
Reach CAI Capital at 416-306-9810; Aero Equity at 912-598-3103; North Atlantic at 207-772-4470.
http://www.northatlanticcapital.com
http://www.aerosat.com
http://www.caifunds.com
http://www.aeroequity.com