Frontier Silicon secures £16 million funding led by new investor Mitsui Private Equity

Proceeds to further develop semiconductor roadmap for mobile digital TV solutions

LONDON — Frontier Silicon, a leading supplier of IC (integrated circuit) solutions for mobile TV and digital audio products, has announced that it has secured a £16million financing round led by new investor Mitsui Private Equity. Alongside additional new investors Cheyne Capital Management and Plutus Capital Management, the round was supported by existing investors Apax Partners, GLG Partners, ACT Venture Capital, Alta Berkeley and BlueRun Ventures. The new investment will boost Frontier Silicon’s aggressive roadmap of semiconductor solutions for mobile TV and digital audio products.

As one of the leading players in the global rollout of mobile TV, Frontier Silicon has already shipped over one million ICs for mobile TV enabled cellular handsets and possesses a portfolio of solutions supporting multiple standards including DVB-H, T-DMB and DAB-IP. The company also dominates the digital audio market with a share of over 70 percent in DAB receivers and has recently launched a new mass market WiFi radio solution which will add Internet radio and network audio streaming capability to mass market audio products.

Frontier Silicon’s CEO, Anthony Sethill, said, “This investment is a confirmation of our strategy and a show of confidence from both new and existing shareholders in the continued growth of the markets we address. Our multi-standard approach to mobile TV, with its flexible software defined radio architecture, is being seen by the industry as the only cost effective solution to the increasingly fragmenting market. We are also very confident about our new WiFi radio solution which is helping to create a new segment in the digital audio market; one that is predicted to boom over the coming few years.”

Tom Watanabe, general manager of Mitsui Private Equity said, “We are delighted to be investing in Frontier Silicon at this exciting time in the company’s development. In addition to helping accelerate Frontier’s product roadmap in the mobile TV space, Mitsui & Co will bring added benefits to the business through its position as one of Japan’s leading conglomerates.”

Roy Mackenzie, of Apax Partners, said, “Since we invested in Frontier in 2003 we have seen significant progress in the development of the business in terms of revenue, development capability and customer design wins. Prospects for continued growth in the company’s audio IC business and emerging mobile digital TV look very encouraging. We are clearly very keen to increase our support with additional funding.”