ProtoStar, a Bermuda corporation with major operations in San Francisco, said in a press release that it has received "a commitment" for a $40 million Series B round of financing from syndicate of venture capital firms.
We haven't been able to check what the company means by "commitment," but presume this wording was chosen because the deal includes a large component of debt.
Indeed, this latest new confirms our report from three weeks ago (scroll down), when we mentioned Protostar had raised the first $16.31 million of this round, including $4.62 million in convertible securities/warrants.
Silicon Valley venture (San Bruno) firm VantagePoint Venture Partners led the round, with participation from existing equity investors, New Enterprise Associates and RedShift Ventures.
ProtoStar said it has appointed current director, Steven D. Dorfman, as chairman of the board, and announced that VantagePoint Venture Partners managing director Duncan Davidson joined the company's board.
ProtoStar is developing a satellite constellation of high-powered geostationary (GEO) satellites that will provide a satellite network serving direct-to-home (DTH) service providers in Asia. The company's initial plan is to create a three-satellite constellation with coverage of South Asia, Southeast Asia and China, an area containing more than three billion people, the company said.
ProtoStar said it expects to complete construction and launch its first satellite, ProtoStar I, in the first quarter of 2008. ProtoStar I is a Space Systems/Loral (SS/L) manufactured 1300, a satellite utilized by many of today's DTH operators.
(Here is our original story on Protostar)