Tech firm gets €4m cash injection

TECHNOLOGY firm Mobileaware has raised €4 million in fresh funding, the company said yesterday.

The funding, from new and existing investors, brings the total amount raised by the company to €20m since it was formed in 1999.

Mobileaware, which develops software for mobile devices, said it will use the cash to expand its product lines and employee numbers.

The company, which is based in Dublin, currently employs around 25 people. However, at one stage at the height of the technology boom, Mobileaware employed double this number of workers.

Mobileaware’s new financing was raised from some of its existing shareholders, Cross Atlantic Capital Partners and Bank of America and new backer Nauta Capital - a European finance house.

Other backers of the firm include semiconductor giant Intel and Denis O’Brien’s investment vehicle, Island Capital.

Kevin McCloskey, chief executive at Mobileaware, said in a statement: “This investment will drive an exciting new phase of global business expansion.”

The company has been busy signing up clients this year. American firm BEA Systems signed a deal with the Irish firm for its products, as did as subsidiary of the data storage company EMC.

The last set of accounts for the company, which cover the year to the end of March 2003, show that it had made of a loss over €4.3m with no turnover.

The company’s profit and loss account showed that retained losses had grown to €11.1m, while it had cash assets of just €1.2m in the bank.

The company was founded by the trio of Brian Collins, Brian Kinane and Eamon Howe.

Mr McCloskey took over as chief executive after a funding round last year. He is the third chief executive of the company in its lifetime.