Madison Dearborn buys majority stake in NextG Networks

Madison Dearborn Partners, a private equity firm in Chicago, has taken a majority stake in NextG Networks, a San Jose, Calif.-based provider of antenna systems used to carry wireless signals, according to a filing with the SEC. The deal will give the company, which had to withdraw its $150 million IPO filing in May, an influx of $360 million.

NextG has been on shaky ground since 2001, when it first plunged into the red. Without the… Continue Reading

Wireless networking co. NextG gives up on IPO

NextG Networks, a San Jose, Calif., provider of antenna systems used to carry mobile phone signals, has withdrawn its filing to go public due to unfavorable market conditions — even in the wake of successful SolarWinds and OpenTable IPOs earlier this week, reports VentureWire. It had planned to sell $150 million in common stock.

Not only has the company been in the red since 2001, it is starting to see wireless carriers implementing their own antenna… Continue Reading

Roundup: Texas Instruments lowers overall cell phone forecast, but women drive smart phone sales

Roundup: Texas Instruments lowers overall cell phone forecast, but women drive smart phone sales

Texas Instruments says cell phone sales weakening: TI said that sales of chips for wireless handsets were “unseasonably weak,” causing the bellwether company for the cell phone economy to lower its second-quarter earnings outlook. The Dallas-based chip maker said that it expects revenue to be $3.17 billion to $3.28 billion, compared with the previous estimate of $3.08 billion to $3.32 billion. It’s interesting that TI is seeing the slowdown in advance of one of the biggest… Continue Reading

Distributed wireless-network co. NextG Networks beams in $50M

NextG Networks, a San Jose, Calif., developer of fiber-optic distributed-antenna systems for wireless communications, raised $49.8 million in a third funding round. Investors included Oak Investment Partners and Gabriel Venture Partners.

The company essentially provides small, geographically distributed antennae linked by fiber networks that are designed to fill the gaps left by huge cellphone towers in an “aesthetic” fashion that won’t generate community opposition. NextG says it acts as a “carrier’s carrier,” routing traffic from larger… Continue Reading