Any comments on this? Paul, how did you know about Madge? ; )
Thursday July 9, 10:08 am Eastern Time
Lucent to buy LANNET for $117 mln
MURRAY HILL, N.J., July 9 (Reuters) - Lucent Technologies Inc. said Thursday it had agreed to acquire data networking supplier LANNET, a Tel Aviv-based unit of the Dutch company Madge Networks NV (MADGF - news), for $117 million in cash.
It is Lucent's fourth acquisition since September as the telecommunications equipment giant tries to strengthen its presence in the fast-growing data networking market.
Lucent said the deal, expected to be completed in its fiscal fourth quarter ending Sept. 30, will result in an unspecified one-time, non-cash charge against earnings.
The charge will reflect a write-off of in-process research and development and will be taken in the September quarter, assuming the transaction is closed by then, it said.
Excluding this one-time charge, the impact of the purchase to earnings in fiscal 1998 is expected to be immaterial, Lucent said.
LANNET makes switches that serve local area networks (LAN), such as small work groups or large campuses computer networks. Its expertise in LAN equipment fills a void in Lucent's growing data networking equipment portfolio.
Lucent said LANNET was an attractive acquisition candidate due to its strong track record and market-leading position in the LAN market. LANNET, founded in 1985, also offers a prestigious customer base and a strong sales network, especially in Europe, Lucent said.
On completion of the acquisition, LANNET will become part of Lucent's Enterprise Infrastructure Products Group (EIPG). Shmuel Levy, chief executive of LANNET, will join Lucent as president of the EIPG Israel Technology Center. LANNET's center of operations will remain in Israel.
Last September Lucent outlined its strategy to address the data networking business. Since then, it has acquired Livingston Enterprises Inc., a leading provider of remote access networking solutions for the Internet; Prominet Corp., a developer of Gigabit Ethernet local area network switching and routing products; and Yurie Systems, a leading wide area network access equipment supplier.
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