In the wake of
Cisco Systems Inc.'s (Nasdaq: CSCO) planned $450 million acquisition of wireless LAN switch firm
Airespace Inc., the startup's closest rivals --
Aruba Wireless Networks and
Trapeze Networks Inc. -- are rumored to be in a "horse race" to partner up or maybe even find a buyer, according to sources.
Aruba is being linked with networking giant
Juniper Networks Inc. (Nasdaq: JNPR) by some. One source even tells
Unstrung that Juniper has made an offer of $210 million for the firm, but that Aruba is looking for more moolah than that.
Juniper hasn't yet returned calls for comment.
Analysts have long wondered about Juniper's corporate wireless LAN strategy, especially following the firm's acquisition of enterprise security firm NetScreen. Aruba could actually prove to be a complementary buy in this sector, with its increasing focus on wired
and wireless enterprise network security (see
Juniper's Wireless Hole).
But Aruba's flambuoyant communications director, David Callisch, refused to comment on the rumor, except to say that the firm isn't plotting "an acquisition-based exit strategy."
Another source says that Aruba is currently casting its net wide for potential technology partners. "I'm hearing they're all over town right now," says a source.
Airespace's current lineup of OEM partners could turn out to be lucrative bedfellows for either Aruba or Trapeze, especially now that Cisco's acquisition has helped to put a dollar value on the market. Airespace has said that the deals with
Alcatel SA (NYSE: ALA; Paris: CGEP:PA),
NEC Corp. (Nasdaq: NIPNY; Tokyo: 6701), and
Nortel Networks Ltd. (NYSE/Toronto: NT) are currently "under discussion." (See
Cisco's Airespace Program.) But it seems unlikely that any of these incumbents will want to rebadge products from their largest rival.
"I think there's going to be a horse race between those two," says a wireless whisperer.
"We're open to partnerships, but they've got to be beneficial to us," says Aruba's birthday boy Callisch, while declining to name any of the potential suitors the firm might be talking to.
Trapeze has been somewhat overshadowed by Airespace and Aruba recently, but we will likely see more of it this year. Trapeze's partnership with
3Com Corp. (Nasdaq: COMS) is now kicking in, and the firm is rumored to have just closed another round of venture funding.
Trapeze hadn't returned calls for comment by press time.
— Dan Jones, Site Editor,
Unstrung
