Juniper Networks Buys Trapeze Networks for $152 Million in Cash
Juniper Networks Inc., the second- largest maker of computer-networking equipment, agreed to buy Trapeze Networks for $152 million in cash to expand its ability to help workers access corporate-data centers wirelessly.
The purchase from Belden Inc. will likely close by the end of the year, Sunnyvale, California-based Juniper said today in a statement.
The acquisition marks Juniper’s entrance into the wireless networking market. Juniper has added new security, routing and switching products to its portfolio as it tries to make deeper inroads into the corporate arena. Most companies buy their wireless networking products from the same vendors that provide them with wired gear, giving Juniper an opening to grab more sales, according to William Blair & Co.
“Juniper has likely been leaving a lot of opportunity on the table,” Jason Ader, an analyst at William Blair in Boston, said today in a note to investors. “The deal makes abundant sense given Juniper’s current lack of a wireless LAN strategy.” He was referring to a local area network that connects computers, printers and other electronic office equipment.
Juniper fell 73 cents, or 2.1 percent, to $33.61 at 12:36 p.m. New York time in New York Stock Exchange composite trading.
Trapeze holds more patents than any of its rivals, Juniper said. Competitors in the space include publicly-traded Aruba Networks Inc., Meru Networks Inc. and Cisco Systems Inc.
Juniper sells switches and routers that direct the flow of e-mail, video and Internet data over computer networks. Companies buy its switches for corporate networks, while phone and Internet-service providers typically purchase its more expensive routers.
Security Products
The company unveiled a suite of security products last month aimed at the growing number of people using smartphones such as Apple Inc.’s iPhone for work. The market is growing for Trapeze’s networking products as more people want to connect their mobile devices to corporate networks, Juniper said.
“The iPhone and iPad have really transformed the user demand in the enterprise,” Luis Avila-Marco, a senior vice president at Juniper, said in an interview. “The result of that is really strong demand for” these types of products.
To contact the reporter on this story: Joseph Galante in San Francisco at jgalante3@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Tom Giles at tgiles5@bloomberg.net
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