Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Cisco Buys Starent for $2.9 Billion

San Jose-based Cisco announced today that it will acquire Starent Networks, a developer of mobile infrastructure products, for $2.9 billion in cash. Cisco said it will pay $35 per share in cash for each share of Starent, which is based in Tewksbury, Mass. Cisco said it expects the acquisition to close in the first half of 2010. Starent's products are used by service providers for their mobile infrastructure, particularly for 2.5G, 3G, and 4G radio networks. Cisco said that Starent will become a new Mobile Internet Technology Group within its Service Provider Business, headed by current Starent CEO and President Ashraf Dahod. Starent has over 1,000 employees, and had revenues of $254.1M for its year ended December 31, 2008.