Cisco to Buy Starent Networks
Posted by Jesse Ward on Tuesday, October 13, 2009 · 
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Cisco Systems Inc. announced this morning that it will buy Starent Networks Corp., which helps wireless carriers support smart phones, for $2.9 billion.
Starent, based in Tewksbury, Mass., makes equipment that allows carriers to tie their wireless networks to the Internet. Cisco is paying $35 per share in cash, approximately a 20% premium over Starent’s closing price on Monday of $29.03 per share. The deal is expected to close early next year.
For Cisco, the acquisition is a gamble that end users will continue to download ever larger amounts of data onto smartphones and laptops via wireless networks. Read more