Despite some speed bumps along the way, Broadcom Friday closed its acquisition of Brocade Communications, wrapping up a deal that also has significant implications for Arris.
The Broadcom-Brocade deal close paves the way for Arris to move ahead with its $800 million acquisition of Brocade’s Ruckus Wireless and ICX switch businesses. Arris’s play for those assets was contingent on Broadcom and Brocade getting their deal done.
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Arris’s part of the deal will enable the company to further expand into areas like education, public venues, enterprise and MDUs, and greatly enhance its wireless and mobile technology portfolios.
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Arris, which has been reselling Ruckus products since 2011, has previously said the acquisition will add about 1,600 employees, and will lead to a dedicated business unit that will be led by current Ruckus COO Dan Rabinovitsj.
Arris issued this statement Friday: "As previously announced, ARRIS’s agreement to acquire Brocade’s Ruckus Wireless and ICX Switch business from Broadcom was contingent on Broadcom’s closing its Brocade acquisition. Now that Broadcom has closed its acquisition of Brocade, ARRIS expects to complete the Ruckus acquisition promptly following completion of the transaction’s review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (“CFIUS”). The current CFIUS investigation period ends on November 30, 2017."
We look forward to soon welcoming the Ruckus team into the ARRIS family. Ruckus’ exceptional expertise and portfolio will provide us immediate diversification into the Enterprise market and build on ARRIS’s leadership position in networking and entertainment technology.
As for the deal that’s leading to Arris’s move, Brocade’s common stock will cease to be traded on Nasdaq, and the company will operate as an indirect subsidiary of Broadcom and be led by GM Jack Rondoni.
The closing also gives Broadcom the ability to put more focus on its unsolicited bid for Qualcomm, whose board has already rejected the bid.
