Juniper Networks and Belden have announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which Juniper will acquire Trapeze Networks, a technology leader in enterprise wireless local area network (WLAN) systems and management software, in an all cash transaction valued at approximately $152 million. The acquisition is anticipated to close in the fourth quarter of 2010, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions and applicable regulatory reviews.

The acquisition will make WLAN infrastructure a key part of Juniper's portfolio, accelerating the company's growth in the enterprise market and advancing its vision for the new network. Trapeze Networks provides the highest levels of WLAN reliability, performance, security and management for today's most demanding mobile applications. The company's innovative WLAN technology is highly complementary to Juniper's campus and branch switching, routing and security business. Customers will be able to build new networks based on Juniper's end-to-end routing, security, wired and wireless switching infrastructure that improve users' experience and increase their productivity regardless of location, while delivering lowest total cost of ownership.

Today's increasingly converged networks demand that network connectivity be available anytime and anywhere for users. The explosion of mobile devices is further fueling the unprecedented need for connectivity, regardless of location or device. A recent report(1) by Dell'Oro Group estimates that the enterprise WLAN technology market will grow from $2.2 billion in 2010 to $3.4 billion in 2014. As the fastest growing Ethernet switching provider in 2010 to date,(2) Juniper now adds Trapeze's WLAN products to Juniper's routing, security and switching portfolio, and will be well positioned to deliver the most scalable, secure and highly-available wired and wireless infrastructure for the enterprise market.

"With the acquisition of Trapeze Networks, we extend our industry leading routing, security and switching portfolio with proven and innovative WLAN technology that will enable our customers to provide a seamless, high-quality, secure experience to their users regardless of where and how they access their network," said David Yen, executive vice president and general manager, Fabric and Switching Technologies at Juniper Networks. "Juniper's strong history of technology execution combined with Trapeze's accomplished team ideally positions the company to deliver end-to-end high-performance networking for the world's most demanding networks."

Trapeze Networks currently holds 17 awarded patents -- more than any other WLAN provider -- with 49 more patent filings pending. Trapeze has developed an innovative architecture called Smart Mobile WLAN solution combining the advantages of both centralized and distributed approaches to networking or "intelligent switching." This architecture allows organizations to adopt high-performance 802.11n networks, deliver high-quality voice for hundreds of users, and scale their WLANs across the enterprise indoors and outdoors without compromising security or manageability. More than 6,000 customers have invested in mobility infrastructure based on the Trapeze Smart Mobile WLAN solution. Trapeze Networks' products include Mobility System Software, a full line of Mobility Exchange controllers, Mobility Point access points, an advanced access control product, SmartPass, the RingMaster wireless management suite, antennas and accessories, and location-based software and appliances.

"As the leader in high-performance networking, Juniper represents the ideal provider for us to unlock the value of Trapeze Networks in the global enterprise market," said John Stroup, president and CEO of Belden Inc. "This agreement enables our organization to remain focused on the long-term growth opportunities for wireless technology in our core markets, including the nascent industrial networking market."