Cisco Systems To Snap Up P-Cube In $200M Deal

Networking giant Cisco Systems said Monday that it agreed to acquire Sunnyvale, Calif.-based P-Cube for about $200 million in cash and stock options.

Cisco said it expects to record a charge of no more than 1 cent per share from purchasing in-process research and development. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of fiscal 2005.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson First Call put Cisco's first-quarter earnings at 21 cents per share for the fiscal year.

P-Cube, which currently has 118 employees, develops software for monitoring Internet-protocol network activity. The company's team will report to Pankaj Patel, vice president and general manager of Cisco's broadband edge and midrange routing business division.

Shares of Cisco rose 1.1 percent, or 20 cents, to $19.08 during early-afternoon activity on the Nasdaq.Copyright 2004 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.