Lucent Technologies, in a move the company said is aimed at filling a key space in its data networking offerings, today announced it will acquire ATM provider Yurie Systems, Inc. for approximately $1 billion in cash.
Expected to be finalized by June 30 of this year, the agreement calls for Lucent to begin a cash tender offer for all outstanding shares of Yurie common stock for $35 a share.
Shareholders holding more than 50% of Yurie’s common stock on a fully diluted basis have agreed to tender Yurie stock. Shares that are not purchased in the offer will be acquired for the same price in cash in a second-step merger.
Landover, MD-based Yurie delivers ATM wide area network (WAN) access equipment to service providers, companies, and government organizations. Customers have included AT&T, Sprint, Ericsson, Bay Networks, as well as various universities and hospitals.
ATM industry-standard technology is designed to transmit data including Internet traffic, voice, and video over backbone networks at high speeds.
“The ATM access opportunity is growing explosively–at annual rates greater than 60 percent–and Yurie is the recognized leader in developing and delivering next-generation, highly-reliable, ATM WAN access solutions for multi-service networking,” said Bill O’Shea, president of Lucent’s Data Networking Systems group, in a statement.
“Adding Yurie to the Lucent team will help us meet our aggressive leadership and growth objectives in this business.”