Syniverse to acquire Aicent

Syniverse has agreed to purchase Aicent for $290 million, which is expected to increase Syniverse’s network and its analytics capabilities.
Aicent is the largest multi-service IPX provider for data network services and serves the world’s 10 largest carriers and more than 200 mobile operators globally, as well as supporting LTE roaming for more than 60 carriers around the world. The company announced at the end of March that it was supporting 2 million LTE roamers monthly.
Jeff Gordon, president and CEO of Syniverse, called the acquisition “an important strategic move for Syniverse, which we expect will give us the added reach to deliver the future potential of LTE in today’s expanding mobile ecosystem.
“In particular, the increased direct connections we gain as part of this transaction will make it possible to deliver on the promise of mobile context via an expanded footprint for the exchange of real-time information,” Gordon said in a statement.
Aicent’s portfolio includes connectivity, roaming and interworking solutions that will complement those of Syniverse, and Syniverse says it will be able to provide mobile service providers with “enhanced mobile experiences based on end-user mobile context.” Aicent has cloud-based analytics tools that monitor end-to-end customer experience along with quality of service and Synvierse expects the purchase to expand its real-time intelligence offerings.
The deal also gives Syniverse a larger footprint, with more direct connections outside North America to support its application-to-person (A2P) business for multinational enterprises. Aicent began supporting LTE roaming in China earlier this year, and signed a new IPX peering agreement with Etisalat, which services the Middle East and Africa, in early March.