Nortel acquires Tasman Networks

Nortel announced Tuesday it will acquire Tasman Networks, a provider of enterprise-level routers, for $99.5 million..

The cash deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2006, Nortel said in a news release. Tasman, founded in 1997, is based in San Jose and makes low-cost, standards-based WAN routers and other network gear.

Tasman’s IP routers will be incorporated into the company’s convergence products and marketed as part of its Secure Router line, Nortel said. Those products are directed at small to medium-sized deployments that support voice, VPNs and firewalls, Nortel said.

Tasman, which competes with Cisco and Juniper in the router market, has a low profile due to the fact that most of its products are sold to carriers that re-brand them as part of a managed service for network connectivity. Other Tasman products are also re-branded by network equipment vendors.