NextWave pays $13.3M for muni Wi-Fi vendor

NextWave Wireless Inc. has agreed to acquire Go Networks Inc., which develops Wi-Fi networks for campus and municipal deployment. NextWave will pay about $13.3 million in cash for the company, and will also assume Go’s $7.5 million in debt. NextWave’s purchase price could increase by an extra $25.7 million based on “the achievement of certain operational milestones in the 18 month period [following the closing],” NextWave said in a statement.
The acquisition is expected to close in the first quarter of this year.
“After extensive field testing of several metro-scale Wi-Fi network systems, we selected Go’s Metro Broadband Wireless system as the most competitive and cost-effective Wi-Fi network solution for NextWave,” said Allen Salmasi, NextWave’s president and CEO. He added that Go’s technology “is a natural complement to NextWave’s WiMAX product line and will enhance our ability to deliver high-performance, wide-area and local-area wireless broadband services using stand-alone or integrated Wi-Fi/WiMAX solutions that utilize both licensed and license-exempt spectrum.”
NextWave has had a long and storied trip through the wireless industry. The company won spectrum licenses worth billions during FCC auctions in the 1990s, but then filed for bankruptcy protection. The company’s spectrum was tied up for years in legal battles until NextWave eventually sold the spectrum. The company now offers WiMAX chips.
Interestingly, NextWave is back in the spectrum game. The company spent $115.5 million on 154 spectrum licenses in last year’s advanced wireless services spectrum auction.
NextWave’s stock recently began trading on the Nasdaq, moving up from trading on the over-the-counter board. NextWave’s stock rose slightly on its acquisition of Go, hitting $10.78 per share.
“We believe that a Nasdaq listing will provide increased visibility for our shares, have a positive impact on NextWave and its shareholders, and enhance our ability to deliver next-generation wireless broadband technologies and solutions,” said Salmasi.