CIENA will acquire WaveSmith Networks, a start-up based in Acton, Massachusetts, for its multiservice edge switching systems. The WaveSmith platform is designed for central office switching and applications such as DSL aggregation. CIENA was an investor in WaveSmith's third round of financing in October 2002, at which time it also entered into an agreement to resell WaveSmith's equipment worldwide. Under the terms of the acquisition, all shares of WaveSmith stock will be exchanged for approximately 36 million shares of CIENA common stock. WaveSmith's employee stock options will be converted into options to purchase CIENA shares. CIENA valued the transaction at approximately $158 million, which is net of the return it will recognize on its earlier investment in WaveSmith. CIENA anticipates that the acquisition will close during its third fiscal quarter, which ends 31-July-2003. CIENA said that WaveSmith would continue to operate from its existing Massachusetts headquarters.
http://www.wavesmithnetworks.com
http://www.ciena.com
- Last month, Wavesmith Networks announced a major contract with SBC, which is deploying WaveSmith's DN 7100 multiservice switch to provide DSL aggregation across 200 sites nationwide. The multiyear, multimillion-dollar contract is the largest announced to date by WaveSmith.
In October 2002, WaveSmith closed $30 million in third round financing for its DN multiservice switching product family. WaveSmith raised a total of $84.5 million since its founding in 2000.
Two weeks ago, WaveSmith announced three additions to its Distributed Node (DN) multiservice switching platform: MPLS support, a new Multiservice Forwarding Module and a higher capacity switch for larger central office (CO) deployments.
In November 2002, WaveSmith Networks named Thomas Burkardt as its new Chairman and CEO, succeeding founding President and CEO, Robert Dalias. Prior to joining WaveSmith, Burkardt was chief operating officer and executive vice president of Unisphere Networks, which was acquired by Juniper Networks. Before Unisphere, he was co-founder and president of Castle Networks.
CIENA also sells and supports the Equipe Communications' Equipe 3200 ATM/MPLS multiservice core switch into targeted Tier One service provider accounts, which it agreed to do in June 2002.
In February 2002, CIENA agreed to acquire ONI Systems for $900 million in stock.
