Horizon Technology Finance leads $25 mln venture loan to mBlox

Horizon Technology Finance Corporation has led a $25 million venture loan for mBlox. mBlox is a global provider of A2P text messaging.

PRESS RELEASE

Horizon Technology Finance Corporation (Nasdaq: HRZN) (“Horizon”), a leading specialty finance company that provides secured loans to venture capital and private equity backed development-stage companies in the technology, life science, healthcare information and services, and cleantech industries, today announced it led a $25 million venture loan for mBlox, Inc. (“mBlox”), the largest global provider of A2P (application-to-person) text messaging. The venture loan was fully funded at closing, with Horizon funding its commitment of $10 million. mBlox will use the funds to support its continued growth.

“We are excited to add mBlox to our quality investment portfolio,” stated Gerald A. Michaud, President of Horizon. “The company’s rapid revenue and earnings growth is directly related to its global leadership in the expanding, multi-billion-dollar A2P messaging market. As an industry pioneer, mBlox has created a cloud-based mobile engagement platform enabling companies to reach individuals on virtually any mobile device worldwide. We look forward to working with mBlox as the company advances its mission to help businesses build meaningful mobile connections with their customers.”

Tom Cotney, CEO of mBlox, stated, “The $25 million venture loan led by Horizon strengthens our financial position as we continue to execute our growth strategy. We appreciate the support we have received from Horizon and their experienced team of professionals, who worked diligently to close this strategic transaction. The funding from Horizon positions us to remain in the leadership position we have developed on a worldwide basis. Increasingly, that requires broader support of the needs of large enterprises that are mature users of mobile technology as well as new entrants that are smaller and move quickly. Horizon helped us fill the war chest we need to capture more growth for our investors and our reseller partners serving key segments of a growing market.”

About Horizon Technology Finance
Horizon Technology Finance Corporation is a business development company that provides secured loans to development-stage companies backed by established venture capital and private equity firms within the technology, life science, healthcare information and services, and cleantech industries. The investment objective of Horizon is to maximize total returns by generating current income from a portfolio of directly originated secured loans as well as capital appreciation from warrants that it receives when making such loans. Headquartered in Farmington, Connecticut, with regional offices in Walnut Creek, California and Reston, Virginia, Horizon is externally managed by its investment advisor, Horizon Technology Finance Management LLC. Horizon’s common stock trades on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the ticker symbol “HRZN”. In addition, Horizon’s 7.375% Senior Notes due 2019 trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “HTF.”

About mBlox
mBlox is the largest Application to Person (A2P) mobile messaging provider in the world, trusted by more companies to carry their mission-critical traffic than any other service. As the industry’s most experienced Tier One SMS aggregator, mBlox specializes in the unique demands of large-scale mobile messaging programs and is known for providing reliable, uncompromising connections. By creating positive brand experiences, mBlox helps clients transform numbers into profitable relationships with loyal customers.