PETAH TIKVA, Israel -- ECI Telecom (NASDAQ: ECIL) announced today that the merger between its subsidiary, ECI Telecom ? NGTS Ltd. and NexVerse? Networks to establish Veraz Networks (previously introduced as Chorale Networks), has been completed. Additionally, Veraz has closed the planned $30 million financing round. Argonaut Private Equity has invested $5.5 million in the new company and joins ECI Telecom, which invested $10 million, and NexVerse's original investors ? Norwest Venture Partners, Battery Ventures, Levensohn Venture Partners and Kleiner Perkins Caulfield & Byers, who invested $14.5 million. Following the completion of the planned $30 million financing round, ECI owns 43.2% on a non-fully diluted basis and 36.2% on a fully diluted basis of Veraz Networks. The transaction is an important step in ECI's strategy of focusing its internal resources on its core transport and access businesses, while maintaining a significant foothold in the emerging markets for VoIP and next generation telephony solutions. Veraz inherits from NexVerse a growing base of large softswitch network deployments. Coupled with the proven success of ECI-NGTS in building a customer base of over 700 carriers, and ECI Telecom's global presence, the new company has powerful leverage for securing new customers and offering a more compelling set of options, providing carriers true freedom of choice in next generation deployments. NexVerse Networks Inc.