Juniper to buy Pacific Broadband

This one would have been tough to predict. Router vendor Juniper Networks yesterday announced a merger agreement with privately-held Pacific Broadband Communications, which develops cable modem termination systems (CMTS).

The all-stock transaction is valued at $200 million and has been approved by the board of directors of both companies. The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter.

“This is another step in our continuing strategy of reaching out from the core to the new public network,” said Scott Kriens, president and CEO of Juniper.

The Pacific Broadband equipment, which is going into trials this quarter, will be used by cable operators to deliver advanced IP services such as voice over IP, high-speed access and video on demand.

So far, other vendors with CMTS products already have been acquired. Motorola recently purchased River Delta, while ADC bought Broadband Access--reflections of the CMTS market potential. Kriens cited Gartner/Dataquest research that puts a $500 million tag on the CMTS market for 2001 and a whopping $1.3 billion by 2005.

--Liane H. LaBarba, senior editor