Global investment banking firm Advanced Equities announced that one of its portfolio companies, Force10 Networks, an industry leader in high-performance datacenter networking, has signed an agreement to be acquired by Dell.

Operating in more than 60 countries worldwide, Force10 has emerged as a global force in datacenter, service provider, and enterprise networking. The acquisition is expected to complement Dell's range of offerings as the leading x86 server provider in the United States and No. 2 worldwide.

"Advanced Equities has played a critical role in our success, from financing to M&A advice and assistance. They have always been there to support us, bringing to bear the full power of their experienced team," said Henry Wasik, chief executive officer, Force10 Networks. 

Force10 was created in April 2009 via a merger between two Advanced Equities portfolio companies, Turin Networks and Force10 Networks, both founded in 1999.