dave:
Here is the Nortel purchase:
Nortel to buy Aptis for switches
By Tim Clark
Staff Writer, CNET NEWS.COM
March 18, 1998, 12:10 p.m. PT
Telephone network equipment company Nortel (Northern Telecom) (NT) will
acquire Aptis Communications, a data networking start-up, for
approximately $290 million in Nortel common stock and cash.
Aptis develops access switches used by telephone carriers and ISPs to
integrate voice and data traffic on Internet Protocol networks, to
create virtual private networks (VPNs), and to handle modem traffic.
"Without a carrier-class remote access device like Aptis's, Nortel would
be drowning," Maribel Lopez, a Forrester Research analyst, said. "Nortel
doesn't have one, and the Aptis acquisition gives them a prod they can
use to compete against Cisco."
To offer Internet access and voice-over-IP networks, carriers need a
piece of equipment in their central offices to accept incoming
transmissions.
Aptis's product, CVX 1800, is now in beta testing and due to ship next
month. It currently can handle 6,000 simultaneous modem connections at
an ISP or telephone carrier's central office. Nortel plans to add DSL
capabilities and SONET connections, as well as network management.
The product will be integrated into Nortel's Internet Thruway and
Multi-Megabit network solutions, already in service with carriers and
ISPs across the United States.
The acquisition continues telephone network equipment vendors' rush,
including that of rival Lucent, to send data and voice traffic over the
same networks. From the data networking side, Cisco Systems, Ascend, Bay
Networks, and 3Com have announced or delivered similar products.
"We see a move to an IP-based network," said Nortel's Glenn Falcao, vice
president and general manager of Nortel Public Data Networks. "It has to
be as reliable and scalable and robust and secure as the existing
[voice] network. Nortel is absolutely focused on being a leader in
making high-volume, high-reliability data networks as reliable as the
voice networks."
Paul Gustafson, Aptis CEO, said the CVX 1800 was designed from the start
for major ISPs and telephone carriers, differentiating the company from
competitors whom he says focused first on other market segments.
"We have delivered by far the best product for this space, now combined
with one of the strongest market players in the carrier space,"
Gustafson said.
Nortel is pushing products that let carriers and ISPs deliver data and
voice traffic over the same Internet Protocol networks.
The CVX 1800 is currently in trials with major ISPs GTE Internetworking,
formerly BBN Planet, and UUNet, now part of long distance giant WorldCom
.
Aptis, founded in January 1997 and now comprised of 50 employees located
in Boston, will continue to operate as a separate business. Gustafson
will remain president of Aptis and become a Nortel vice president and
general manager. Toronto-based Nortel had 1997 revenues of $15.5 billion
and has about 73,000 employees.
The sale represents a huge return for Aptis venture capital backers, who
include Charles River Ventures, Bessemer Venture Partners, Morgenthaler
Ventures, and JAFCO. In January, Aptis announced $10.5 million in
second-round funding, bringing total venture investment to $16 million
for a company sold for $290 million. news.com. |
