Cisco Systems, Inc. yesterday announced plans to acquire LightSpeed International, Inc., a privately-held maker of voice signaling translation technology.
Under the terms of the agreement, Cisco will exchange between 2.7 million and 3.3 million shares of Cisco common stock for the outstanding shares and options of LightSpeed, according to a statement released by Cisco. The transaction is worth approximately $160 million, the statement said.
As a result of the acquisition, Cisco would take a one-time charge against after-tax earnings of between 11 cents and 15 cents per share, according to the statement.
Sterling, Va.-based LightSpeed makes voice protocol conversion and intelligent call control software, which permits signaling to be transmitted among different sets of voice protocols and applications, according to Cisco's statement.
Acquiring LightSpeed will boost Cisco's competitive position in offering enterprises a PBX gateway to interconnect PBX environments for large customers, the statement said. The acquisition also will strengthen Cisco's position with service providers, who are transitioning from circuit switched environments to voice over ATM and voice over IP.
LightSpeed, which was founded in 1995 and has around 70 employees, will become part of Cisco's Service Provider line of business, which is run by Senior Vice President Don Listwin, the statement said.
The acquisition has been approved by both companies' boards of directors and should be finalized by mid-January, subject to regulatory conditions, according to the company's statement.
