Globalive founder Anthony Lacavera announed recently that he'll be stepping down as chairman and CEO of WIND Mobile, one of that company's key holdings, and will focus his energy on a new venture capital project,
Globalive Capital.
WIND Mobile was launched by Globalive in 2008, with financial backing from Orascom Telecom, and reports that it currently has more than 600,000 subscribers across Canada, making it the fourth-largest mobile provider in Canada after "big three," Rogers, Telus, and Bell.
“As an entrepreneur, my vision was to ignite change across the wireless landscape in Canada, bringing more competition, better prices and superior service to Canadians...[a]nd that is exactly what we did,” Lacavera said in a press statement, explaining his reasons for leaving now.
The financial details haven't been made public, but Orascom will purchase Lacavela's shares from him, pending regulatory approval. Orascom is an Egyptian company, but recent changes to legislation allow foreign ownership of telecoms with less than 10 per cent of the market.
A timeline hasn't been announced yet, but Globalive Capital will launch in "early 2013," the company says. It will focus specifically on "entrepreneurs developing early-stage technology, media, and telecom companies." Further details are so far scarce, but more are promised soon.
Writer: Hamutal Dotan
Source: Globalive