Led by the Nomura Group, Round Puts Total Investment Over $80 Million

    SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- Visage Mobile, the leading MVNO
 enabler, announced today that it has closed $30 million in series D funding
 led by Nomura International, bringing its total capital raised to more than
 $80 million. All of its previous investors participated in the D round.
     Visage Mobile is the pioneer Mobile Virtual Network Enabler (MVNE),
 providing systems and operations support for the new class of private branded
 wireless services known as MVNOs. Visage Mobile's comprehensive suite of
 technology and services is currently enabling three MVNOs, and the company
 plans to make additional client announcements in the near future. The Besen
 Group, an independent management consultancy, recently named Visage Mobile as
 the first "Total Solutions Provider" among 11 companies it evaluated as the
 top MVNEs in North America.
     "We are thrilled to see the continued endorsement of our market and our
 business model by the investment community, as evidenced by this strong D
 round funding," said Matt Johnson, CEO of Visage Mobile. "Having dedicated
 more than $80 million to building the premiere MVNO enabling platform and
 deploying it for multiple customers and with multiple carriers, we are poised
 to add additional subscribers as the MVNO market continues to gain traction in
 the US."
     Johnson highlighted analyst estimates that MVNOs could capture as much as
 20 per cent of the overall US wireless market within five years, generating
 more than $25 billion in annual revenue. Visage Mobile will use the new
 funding to expand platform capabilities and deploy it for additional
 customers.
     "Nomura believes Visage Mobile has set the standard for MVNO enablement
 services, and has created an exciting growth business," said Andrew Healey,
 head of Nomura International's technology private equity practice. "We are
 pleased to contribute to its growth and share in the expansion of wireless
 services in the US to currently underserved sectors."
     Visage Mobile is backed by leading venture capital firms. In addition to
 Nomura, continuing investors are Worldview Technology Partners, which led
 Visage Mobile's round C funding of $22.8 million, Mobius Venture Capital,
 Advanced Technology Partners, Vesbridge Partners (formerly St. Paul Venture
 Capital), Emergence Capital Partners, Palisades Ventures and Selby Venture
 Partners.
 
     About Visage Mobile
     Visage Mobile is the leading Mobile Virtual Network Enabler (MVNE) in the
 US.  Visage Mobile's MVNO platform has energized the market for leading
 consumer brands to enter in the wireless market as MVNOs by shortening the
 time to market to a matter of months and lowering the entry cost to a fraction
 of building a dedicated platform.  Founded in 2001, Visage Mobile's sole focus
 is on enabling MVNOs, and it has committed over $80 million to its leading
 technology platform.  Additional information is available at
 www.visagemobile.com.
 
     About Nomura
     The Private Equity Group ("PEG") is the Venture Capital arm of Nomura
 Group, one of the world's leading investment banks and Japan's largest
 securities firm. Since its creation in 1997, PEG has invested in 50 companies
 in the Technology sector, in the US and Europe. Many of PEG's portfolio
 companies have been involved in IPOs and mergers. Representative investments
 include Meriton Networks, Revivio, NetForensics, Arraycomm, enCommerce and
 Arc.
     Nomura is a global financial services group dedicated to providing a broad
 range of financial services for individual, institutional, corporate and
 government clients. The Group offers a diverse line of competitive products
 and value-added financial and advisory solutions through its global
 headquarters in Tokyo, 133 branches in Japan, and an international network in
 28 countries; with regional headquarters in Hong Kong, London and New York.
 The Group's business activities include investment consultation and brokerage
 services for retail investors in Japan, and, on a global basis, brokerage
 services, securities underwriting, investment banking advisory services,
 merchant banking, and asset management. For further information about Nomura
 please visit our website at www.nomura.com.
 
 

SOURCE  Visage Mobile