Cisco to acquire Starent Networks for $2.9 billion

Cisco said it will pay $2.9 billion to acquire Starent Networks Corp., a mobile infrastructure provider that targets wireless and converged operators.
Tewksbury, Mass.-based Starent has been on a roll recently as the company was selected to build out Verizon Wireless’ LTE network, has partnered with Motorola for its LTE solution and has been pointed out by analysts as one of the network vendors expected to benefit from the rollout of 3G servicers in China. Starent’s multimedia intelligence, core network functions and services help carriers managed access from 2.5G to 4G radio networks to the operator’s packet core network. The company is air-interface agnostic, offering solutions for CDMA2000, UMTS/HSPA, and WiMAX networks. Starent was formed in 2000 and went public in 2007. The 1,000-employee company reported revenues of $254.1 million last year, up 74% from the previous year.
The acquisition is expected to close in the first half of next year.
“Cisco and Starent Networks share a common vision and bring complementary technologies designed to accelerate the transition to the Mobile Internet, where the network is the platform for Service Providers to launch, deliver and monetize the next generation of mobile multimedia applications and services,” said Pankaj Patel, Cisco’s senior vice president/general manager, Service Provider Business.
“Combining Cisco’s strength in Video and IP with Starent Networks’ leading mobile infrastructure solutions, creates a compelling portfolio of products that provides an integrated architecture to offer rich, quality multimedia experiences to mobile subscribers on 3G and 4G networks,” said Starent Networks President and CEO Ashraf Dahod.