| Alcatel (Paris: CGEP.PA; NYSE: ALA) confirmed today that it had agreed to acquire Israeli start-up Native Networks for about $55 million cash. Native Networks provides optical Ethernet transport solutions.
The two companies already collaborate. In February 2003, they announced an agreement to develop Ethernet packet ring technology.
"Through this acquisition we are strengthening our value proposition and increasing our ability to address multi-service market requirements with innovative solutions to carry metro Ethernet and triple play traffic,“ said Romano Valussi, president of Alcatel’s optical networking activities. “This acquisition further demonstrates our commitment to enable our customers to introduce new services into their current and future networks in a cost efficient way.” “Native Networks’ team is particularly proud to join Alcatel, the world leader in optical networking” said Native Networks CEO Rami Hadar. ”The combination of our core competency, technology and products will enable us to even better and more quickly meet the market demand for innovative Metro Ethernet solutions. Jointly with Alcatel’s optical products we will best positioned to address the growing enterprise and residential demand for faster and scalable Ethernet services.” |
