In less than 11 months Ruckus Wireless went from being a standalone company to being acquired by Brocade, then acquired along with the rest of Brocade by Broadcom—which immediately announced it planned to sell Ruckus and Brocade’s IP networking business—to the February 22 announcement that Arris will acquire Ruckus and Brocade’s ICX Switch business for $800 million. The deal needs to wait until Broadcom’s acquisition of Ruckus and Brocade is complete, which is expected to happen by the end of July. An announcement said the Arris-Ruckus deal will close “approximately one month following” that Broadcom-Brocade deal’s finalization.
“This portfolio will expand Arris’s leadership in converged wired and wireless networking technologies beyond the home into the education, public venue, enterprise, hospitality and MDU segments,” a joint release said. “Arris plans to establish a dedicated business unit within the company focused on innovative wireless networking and wired switching technology to address evolving and emerging needs across a number of vertical markets,” it continued. “The business unit will be led by current Ruckus COO Dan Rabinovitsj.”
Bruce McClelland, Arris’s CEO, commented, “Driven by ever-growing demand for high-speed, reliable, and effortless connectivity, service providers and enterprises will continually invest in their wired and wireless networks. The next five years will see exciting changes as every service provider will become a wireless operator of some fashion. Enterprises and venues will upgrade their broadband networks to provide new innovative value-added services and faster, more-seamless internet access.”
Arris and Ruckus have a number of customers in common. McClelland noted, “We have a history of partnering with Ruckus and the talented employees that created this powerful brand and platform. We are excited to welcome about 1600 new employees and an extensive network of enterprise channel partners to the Arris family.”