Francisco Partners and Sequoia Capital Make Significant Investment in Data Connection and MetaSwitch

Francisco Partners has led a significant investment round into Data Connection Limited (DCL), including its MetaSwitch division. The funding round included Francisco Partners' strategic partner, Sequoia Capital, one of Silicon Valley's most prominent venture capital firms. The Data Connection Employee Benefit Trust (EBT) -- previously the sole shareholder in the business -- retains a major stake in the company. Financial terms were not disclosed.


Data Connection Limited (DCL) is an independent developer and supplier of IMS, SBC, SIP, Megaco/H.248, Diameter, MGCP, Unicast and Multicast IP Routing, Packet and Optical MPLS, ATM, and SNA portable products. It also supplies complete telecom solutions via its MetaSwitch division. Data Connection customers include leading software and hardware vendors, such as Alcatel-Lucent, Cisco, IBM, and Microsoft.


The company's entire existing management team, led by Ian Ferguson, stays in place. In particular, Phil McConnell continues to lead Data Connection's network protocols business, while Graeme MacArthur and John Lazar continue to lead the MetaSwitch division.


"Having recently passed $100 million in annual revenue, it became clear to us that our current growth trajectory would be significantly enhanced by tapping into the experience and resources that major players such as Francisco Partners and Sequoia Capital can bring," said Ian Ferguson, Chairman and Founder of Data Connection and MetaSwitch.

http://www.dataconnection.com