SAN JOSE, CALIF. (05/05/2000) - Cisco Systems Inc. last Friday announced a definitive agreement to acquire publicly traded ArrowPoint Communications Inc., an Acton, Massachusetts, developer of Web switches, in a stock transaction valued at $5.7 billion.
The acquisition is Cisco's second-largest, behind the $6.9 billion purchase of optical switch maker Cerent. ArrowPoint makes devices that are designed to optimize the delivery of Web content. The company's products perform URL- and cookie-based switching, functions that direct traffic based on information such as the content being requested and the frequency of the content request.
ArrowPoint's switches enable ISPs, Web-hosting companies and other businesses to create a faster, more reliable Web experience, Cisco says. The company's products also strengthen Cisco's presence in emerging markets that include application service providers and dot-com companies, Cisco says.
Cisco expects to complete the acquisition in the fourth quarter of its 2000 fiscal year.
ArrowPoint was founded in 1997. Its 337 employees will join the Public Carrier IP Group in Cisco's Service Provider Line of Business.