Exar to Acquire HiFN to Address Deduplication and Secure Backhaul Apps

Exar will acquire Hifn, a supplier of high-performance network, storage and security processors, in a stock swap deal valued at approximately $59 million.


Hifn (NASDAQ: HIFN), which is based in Los Gatos, California, supplies a line of Applied Services Processors (ASPs) to network OEMs. Exar (Nasdaq: EXAR), which is based in Milpitas, California, said the acquisition brings valuable intellectual property related to Ethernet, embedded processors, network security, compression, deduplication, RAID, packet processing architecture and SoC design methodology.


"We believe we can achieve our strategic and financial objectives more quickly with the Hifn acquisition," said Pete Rodriguez, Exar's president and chief executive officer. "The two companies have developed complementary technologies and share a common vision to deliver connectivity and storage solutions that are not only fast, but also efficient and secure. We are delighted to welcome the Hifn team to Exar," stated Mr. Rodriguez. "Our combined focus will enable us to realize expanded revenue and market share, aggressively pursue emerging markets, as well as increase overall gross margin."


"As a developer of analog and mixed-signal semiconductor technology, Exar has focused on creating solutions for high speed connectivity and managing data between computers, over networks and across broadband telecom systems," said Paul Pickering, Exar senior vice president of marketing. "For more than a decade, Hifn has been a pioneer in creating advanced technologies that secure and compress data flowing over networks and residing on storage systems. Hifn's semiconductor and software solutions work hand in hand with various high speed connections to ensure optimized performance. We expect to advance our strategic relationship with shared top tier customers including Cisco Systems, Huawei Technologies, HP and Alcatel-Lucent."http://www.exar.com
http://www.hifn.com