The company is seeking to raise 7m pounds ($12.8m) of new money through a placing by KBC Peel Hunt Ltd. The placing price of 120p ($2.20) means that Amino will be valued at 61.2m pounds ($112.6m). Existing shareholders (including three directors) are also selling shares in the placing, valued at 5.7m pounds ($10.4m).
The principle reason for the placing is to raise funds to give its balance sheet sufficient strength to establish credibility with the major telecom service providers, who make up the company’s customer base. The funds will be invested in product development and to provide working capital to grow the business.
The company has raised 15m pounds ($27.5m) since it was formed in 1997.
Amino provides enabling technologies for broadband communications devices. Through its AmiNET family of IP-based set-top boxes and AVICX software, it offers a low-cost solution to allow telecom service providers to offer television over IP.
Amino said Internet Protocol is now becoming an establish method of delivery of a wide range of digital services through networks or the internet.
For telecom service providers, especially in the United States, the market is proving to be very tough because they have been losing market share to cable operators that are able to offer voice, data and video on a single connection known as triple play. To maximize revenues from their networks and to recover customers lost to other service providers, telecom service providers are now providing IPTV themselves, giving customers their own version of triple play.
The IPTV market is still in its infancy, but the number of IP set-top box shipments is forecast to grow from approximately 2 million in 2004, to between 12.2 million and 13.6 million by 2008, according to ABI.
