Extreme Networks announced the buy out of Enterasys in an all cash transaction valued at $180 million. The company expects the new move to provide customers with some of the most advanced, high performance, and open solutions in the market as well as a superb overall customer experience.
“The combination of Extreme Networks and Enterasys is significant in that it brings together two companies with distinct strengths addressing the key areas of the network, from unified wired and wireless edge, to the enterprise core, to the data center and cloud,” said Zeus Kerravala, principal analyst and president of ZK Research. “With an open software approach, the companies can drive product innovations and customers will benefit from their increased resources and larger scale.”
According to a statement by the company, the Extreme and Enterasys combined will be committed to continue to support the product roadmaps of respective companies to protect the investments of current customers and avoid any disruption to businesses.
“Since its first release in 2004, ExtremeXOS has been developed with a Linux abstraction layer that makes it relatively easy to extend ExtremeXOS to support other vendors’ switching hardware,” said Chuck Berger, President and CEO of Extreme Networks. “Combining Enterasys technologies and products including their Coreflow modular switches, IdentiFi wireless and the NetSight system management application will extend and complement our product offering which we expect will provide significant added value to the current customers of both Extreme and Enterasys.”
“Our number one priority is to ensure an even more positive customer experience by preserving the value of our current customers’ investments and combining the best of both companies’ technologies and talent,” said Chris Crowell, President and CEO of Enterasys Networks.
The companies’ revenue will be approximately double that of either company alone. Significantly increased scale is expected to enable greater investments in R&D to accelerate innovation and bring better technologies and products to market faster. It is also planned that the operating margin of the combined company will increase over time as synergies are realized. The acquisition, excluding transaction, integration and purchase accounting related costs, is expected to be immediately accretive.
