Network equipment manufacturer
Cisco is intending to acquire Israel-based networking software producer
Intucell for $475 million. The deal would give Cisco more options to offer its customers in terms of software-defined networking, as well as access to Intucell's existing agreements with telecommunications companies such as AT&T, something that Intucell provides some of the infrastructure for.
Founded in 2008, Intucell creates software that allows cell towers to communicate and manage the coverage area of individual wireless cells in real-time, according
to All Things D, with the added benefit of allowing wireless networks to effectively "repair" themselves with minimal human intervention. Intucell is backed by $6 million in investment from Bessemer Venture Partners, whom will receive roughly half of the $475 million price when the deal closes in the third quarter of 2013.
Intucell is the most recent of Cisco's software-based acquisitions in recent months. At the end of November last year, it bought
Cariden Technologies, a company dealing with traffic management, network planning, and design for telecoms companies, for $141 million. Earlier that same month, Cisco acquired cloud startup
Meraki, an MIT research project that turned into a 330-employee company that manages networking infrastructure and cloud-based management software for mid-sized organizations, for $1.2 billion.
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