Expanding into wireless network test and measurement, Ixia is buying Catapult Communications for $9.25 per share in cash, which works out to about $105 million.
Catapult’s wireless test systems deliver high-performance solutions for hundreds of protocols and variants, including LTE, IMS, WiMAX, CDMA, VoIP, GPRS and GSM.
Ixia expects Catapult’s 3G and 4G wireless networking test solutions to complement its line of IP performance test systems and service verification platforms. With the combined lines, Ixia said, it will be able to provide a single-source solution for testing converged, multi-play IP services over wireless and wireline networks.
Catapult counts Alcatel-Lucent, Motorola, NEC, NTT DoCoMo, Nortel and Nokia Siemens Networks among its customers.
“We are at an inflection point where today’s advanced communications are quickly merging into a single, seamless delivery network that combines fixed and mobile communications,” said Atul Bhatnagar, president and CEO of Ixia.
The acquisition is expected to close in the third quarter.