Turin Networks to Acquire Carrier Access

Metro transport and switching outfit Turin Networks plans to acquire wireless backhaul and converged access product provider Carrier Access for approximately $92.7 million in cash. The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2008.

Carrier Access had been struggling with flat revenues and in the third quarter of 2007 reported revenue of $7.4 million, down 54 percent from the corresponding quarter the previous year.

The deal comes a little more than a year after Turin’s last acquisition, of White Rock Networks, which it won in a bankruptcy court auction.

Henry Wasik, CEO of Turin, whose iConnect-based solutions facilitate migration to end-to-end Carrier Ethernet and have been deployed by more than 300 customers worldwide, said the acquisition of Carrier Access, which has more than 100 customers, leverages Turin’s strengths in wireless, as well as converged IP networks, and enables it to offer comprehensive solutions that extend to the edge of the service provider network.

Turin’s Director of Product Marketing Kevin Wade told xchange that Turin and Carrier Access today share between 10 and 15 customers, including some reseller partners.

“The combined company is stronger, and has more scale in the areas of customer service, technology expertise, and solutions,” added Wade. “The Carrier Access portfolio of wireless backhaul and converged access products perfectly complement Turin’s strategic growth markets – wireless infrastructure and carrier Ethernet – accelerating our growth and providing our customers with enhanced value.”

Under the terms of the new deal, stockholders will receive $2.60 for each outstanding share of Carrier Access common stock, a premium of 14.7 percent over the 20-day average stock price of $2.27 through Dec. 14.

Carrier Access www.carrieraccess.com
Turin Networks www.turinnetworks.com

Share this article: Email, Slashdot, Digg, Del.icio.us, Yahoo!MyWeb, Windows Live Favorites, Furl
Add this article feed to: RSS, My Yahoo, Newsgator, Bloglines