Picone Advisory Group Retained To Help Secure Funding For ELSE Nanosats
Oakbrook Terrace, Illinois (PRWEB) December 05, 2016 -- Picone Advisory Group has been retained by ELSE to assist the Swiss startup acquire funding for its 64-nanosatellite constellation AstroCast.
AstroCast is a network of nanosatellites that will provide global machine-to-machine (M2M) communication for businesses worldwide. The constellation will allow companies to affordably connect assets—whatever and wherever they are—to information systems through Internet of Things (IoT) services.
An estimated $50 million is needed to build and launch the AstroCast constellation, which ELSE plans to build in-house. The company aims to place two demonstrator nanosats into orbit in the fourth quarter of 2017. The constellation is set to enter commercial service in late 2018 when ELSE will place the first eight satellites, each having a design lifetime of up to five years.
Picone Advisory Group was called in to assist ELSE obtain financing for the project based on owner Chris Picone’s relationship with ELSE COO/CFO Kjell Karlsen. The two had worked together during Karlsen’s tenure as president of Sea Launch when Picone served as an advisor during that company’s restructuring.
ELSE’s operations are based in Lausanne, Switzerland. However, Karlsen and CEO Fabien Jordan are working out of a Portland, Oregon office as the company looks to tap venture capitalist investors on the West Coast.
By year’s end, ELSE expects to secure nearly $2 million in seed funding for the AstroCast project. In mid-2017, the company plans to move into its $6 million Series A round and close that by the end of next year. Close to 20% of the Series A is already committed by existing investors and Karlsen is confident they will finalize it on time.
ELSE was founded by Fabien Jordan, who has 10 years of experience in the nanosatellite field, to commercialize the technology for a low data satellite communications network.
Based in Chicago’s western suburbs, Picone Advisory Group provides consulting services to an international client base in a wide variety of industry settings including: financial services, manufacturing, aerospace, building and construction, food and food service, homeland security and first response, healthcare, energy, real estate, wholesale and retail services, technology, telecommunications, and transportation.
For more information on the firm’s capabilities, contact Christopher L. Picone at CPicone(at)PiconeAdvisoryGroup(dot)com or call (630) 519-5971 to request a consultation.
Debbie Szwast, Stevens & Tate Marketing, http://www.stevens-tate.com/, +1 (630) 627-5200, [email protected]
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