Brocade Challenges Cisco With Foundry Acquisition

Two network equipment companies are becoming one: Data storage vendor Brocade Communications Systems has announced that it is acquiring Foundry Networks, which makes routers, switches, security and traffic management products.The deal, valued at $3 billion, could challenge Cisco Systems' market dominance, particularly in the data center and for virtualization technology dollars. "We will be uniquely positioned from LAN to SAN on both sides of the server, from the Internet to the heart of the data center, to address the trends of convergence and evolving next-generation networks," said Brocade CEO Mike Klayko during a Monday conference call.

The acquisition, already approved by both companies' boards, is expected to close by the end of the year.ChannelWeb