Three mergers have just taken place in the wireless vendor space, one in the broadband arena and two in the software business.
Airspan Networks said it has signed a deal to buy ArelNet Ltd. for $8.7 million. In the software space, Semotus Solutions Inc. announced the acquisition of Expand Beyond, and Diversinet Corp. announced the asset sale of its wholly owned subsidiary DSS Software Technologies to CIT Global Inc
Airspan said it will pay $4 million in cash and $4.7 million of common stock in the deal with ArelNet, which makes Voice over Internet Protocol network equipment and solutions, including switches and gateways. Airspan is a WiMAX player and provider of broadband wireless access solutions for both licensed and unlicensed operators. Its solution is called AS.MAX.
“Our due diligence to date indicates that ArelNet’s current product offerings, development roadmap and track record in innovation will strengthen our market position in this important area when we introduce AS.MAX in the second half of 2005,” said Eric Stonestrom, Airspan’s president and chief executive officer.
Semotus, which makes real-time software professional market data and intelligent wireless communication software, said it will upgrade its solutions with the acquisition of Expand Beyond, which develops, sells and supports mobile and Web applications, software products and application extension technologies.
“This solves the vulnerabilities of relying on on-call staff, which may require 30 to 40 minutes to relocate to the home or office, by giving them the tools to respond immediately from the field,” said Semotus.
Semotus explains further that its range of products “allows for the secure real-time management of Oracle, SQL Server, Teradata, Windows Active Directory, Exchange, Servers and more from mobile devices, including Blackberry, Palm, Pocket PC, laptops, smart phones and desktops.”
Under Diversinet’s asset sale agreement, Diversinet sold the majority of the assets, liabilities and customers to CIT Global, which will continue the operations as CIT Global. The value of the deal was not disclosed.
Diversinet said the sale will allow the company to focus exclusively on its mass market mobile authentication service strategy. “The net assets and customers acquired through the purchase of DSS in 2003, while a significant portion of our current revenue stream, are not consistent with our new business strategy,” said Nagy Moustafa, CEO of Diversinet.
