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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Orotek, Inc. Secures $10 Million in Venture Capital Funding
Southeast-Based Company Plans Acquisitions to Expand Market Reach
ATLANTA GA – 24 February 2009 – Orotek, Inc., specializing in contract direct sales, installations and construction for cable and broadband providers, announced today that it has secured $10 million in venture capital funding from Atlanta-based Southfund Partners. The company plans to use the funds for acquisitions as part of a three-year strategic plan to expand the company into more national coverage.
“While the current global economic turmoil is taking its toll on the business sector, companies with a strong balance sheet look at the situation as an opportunity for expansion,” said William ‘Trey’ Brantley, president and CEO of Orotek Inc. “Orotek has spent the past few years building a strong business in the Southeast, with a minimum debt load and consistently positive cash flow. Now we are looking for acquisitions to continue our growth and expand our market reach.”
The increased competition in cable and broadband combined with consumer concerns over the recession have given companies like Orotek, who augment operator marketing efforts with direct sales services, opportunities for both market and personnel expansion. In a recent earnings call, one of the largest cable operators announced they fell short of analysts’ projections on every subscriber metric – basic, digital, high-speed data and phone – and cited an increase of telco coverage of its footprint from 10% a year ago to now 22%. A week earlier, another major operator reported similar results, with telcos now covering 21% of its footprint compared to only 6% at the end of 2007. Industry analysts believe that the story of exponentially increased competition and decreasing subscriber growth will continue as other cable MSOs report their quarter and year-end results over the coming weeks.
In remarks on the earnings call, the COO of the first MSO specifically called out direct sales as one of the tactics it plans to aggressively employ to combat the economy and stiffer competition. “We have to move quickly to expand our resources,” remarked Brantley. “The best way for us to meet the immediate needs of the cable and broadband providers is to seek out and acquire companies with MSO contracts already in place. This may mean several acquisitions in order to expand into multiple markets quickly.”
Orotek is seeking to acquire not only other direct sales companies, but companies providing installation services as well. “Getting the sales installed quickly is key to maintaining high sales retention rates,” remarked Brantley. “We realize that with the increased sales efforts, we will need to expand our resources on the installation side as well.”
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About Orotek Inc. Orotek Inc. was founded in 2002 to provide direct sales, installation and construction services to cable and broadband providers nationwide. Orotek clients represent some of the top cable MSOs covering many of the major DMAs in the United States. For more information, go to www.orotek.com.
Press contact:
Scott McDonald Vice President, Finance 770.349.0160 x 1008 |
