Brocade to buy Ruckus Wireless for $1.57bn

Networking vendor Brocade has reached an agreement to buy wireless equipment provider Ruckus Wireless for around US$1.2 billion ($1.57 billion) in a move to bolster its enterprise networking portfolio.

Brocade said it plans to use the acquisition to transform into a new type of pure-play networking company providing network components spanning from the data centre to the wireless network edge.

The merger is also expected to open up new revenue opportunities for the combined company in a range of verticals ranging from large enterprises and hospitality to government and education.

The acquisition also reflects the changing dynamics of the networking industry based on the rise of the Internet of Things and the preparatory work towards the commercialisation of 5G — the next evolution of mobile networks after 4G — which is anticipated for 2020.

Brocade CEO Lloyd Carney said the combined company will use Ruckus’s wireless portfolio to pursue market opportunities around these areas, as well as related domains such as smart cities and LTE/Wi-Fi convergence.

“History shows that focused, pure-play companies often innovate faster, are more agile and deliver better value to their customers,” he said.

“With the rapidly evolving requirements of the digital transformation era, we are positioning ourselves to lead where technology is headed. We believe that combining our portfolios will provide significant benefits to our customers and will enable us to accelerate our growth and value creation.”

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