New CEO, $10M in capital for xG

John Coleman was named CEO of xG Technology Inc. on Thursday, but his appointment is just a small part of major ongoing changes at the Sarasota telecommunications company.

The firm is set to receive $10 million in capital from MB Technology Holdings LLC, which already holds 39% of xG's stock. Led by CEO George Schmitt, MBTH provides American investors an opportunity to buy into xG's business (the company trades on the London Stock Exchange, and thus cannot be bought directly by Americans).

Schmitt is a veteran of the telecommunications industry, having played a key role in building Omnipoint Communications (later acquired by T-Mobile) and PCS PrimeCo (now part of Verizon). And he is confident in xG's prospects; he told the Business Review he would be investing $1 million of his own money in the company's common stock.

“This feels to me like it's the next big change that's going to happen,” Schmitt said of xG's efforts to revolutionize telecommunications.

The company, which operates from a corporate headquarters in Sarasota, is aiming to bring voice over Internet protocol, or VoIP, services to cellular phones. Led by founders Rick Mooers and Roger Branton, xG was featured in a 2009 issue of the Business Review.