TCV Redback’s Comeback

A new year for Redback Networks has brought a new lease on life. The struggling maker of telecom equipment, once touted as a rival to Cisco Systems, last week announced that it has received $30 million in equity funding from Technology Crossover Ventures (TCV).

In addition, the company announced it has completed its reorganization out of bankruptcy. The San Jose, Calif.-based provider of broadband networking systems filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in November after a failed attempt to restructure itself outside of court (see PE Week, Nov. 10, 2003).

Under the completed restructuring, the company cut $467 million in debt and reduced operating expenses by a third. President and CEO Kevin DeNuccio said in November that after the debt was eliminated, Redback could reach profitability as soon as the end of 2004 or early in 2005, and should be cash flow positive within a quarter or two.

Redback reported a loss of $18 million for the quarter ended in September 2003 on revenue of $27 million.

Redback received about $20 million in venture capital from the time it was founded in 1996 until it went public three years later. This is TCV’s first investment in Redback.