Making a move that the company says will make it the leader in wireless networking equipment, Proxim Corp. Monday said that it has agreed to purchase Agere Systems Inc.’s wireless networking equipment business for US$65 million in cash.
The deal also includes a three-year licensing and supply deal, as well as a settlement to the patent litigation suit between the companies.
Under terms of the deal, which is expected to close in 60 days, pending regulatory approval, Proxim will acquire Agere’s line of 802.11b wireless networking equipment, including the Orinoco product line and other products for small business, home, enterprise and service provider environments, the companies said in a joint release. Agere, which is based in Allentown, Pennsylvania, will retain its wireless chip, module and card businesses, the companies said.
The companies will also enter into a three-year agreement in which Agere will supply Proxim, which is located in Sunnyvale, California, with wireless chips, modules and cards, as well as a license to the Agere technology used in the Orinoco product line, the companies said. The companies will also cross-license a number of their patents under the deal and settle a patent infringement suit filed by Agere in May 2001.
In that suit, Agere charged that Proxim was infringing on its patents concerning multirate communications systems and antennas, among other issues.
Proxim financed the deal thanks to a $75 million investment in company stock from Warburg Pincus LLC and Broadview Capital Partners.