Cisco Systems, the internet equipment maker, yesterday agreed to acquire a small company that has developed technology to help telecommunications companies better provide internet telephony, online gaming and video-on-demand services.
Cisco said it would pay $200 million (€164.6 million) in cash and options for P-Cube, a privately held group with 118 employees. Cisco said it expected to take a one-time one cent per share charge for in-process research and development. The transaction was expected to close this quarter.
The acquisition is part of Cisco's effort to bolster its portfolio aimed at large telephone service providers, which account for about 25 per cent of Cisco's sales.
Cisco is positioning itself to capitalise on the shift by carriers toward next-generation internet protocol networks, which can carry voice, video and data traffic and are starting to replace traditional voice-based circuit switch networks.
P-Cube's technology is designed to make existing internet protocol networks more intelligent, so that carriers can better analyse, control and meter the flow of data across their networks. With the ability to identify subscribers and monitor content carriers can more easilly offer premium services and charge for them. - (Financial Times Service)
