In a bid for more rapid international growth, US equipment provider Calix Networks has made a deal with the much larger vendor Ericsson.
They have agreed to acquire the fiber access business of the Swedish giant, including its GPON solution which is the main focus.
For what is described as ‘not a material amount of cash’, Calix gets the EDA 1500, a new status as a preferred global partner of Ericsson for broadband applications for three years, and a chance to win a higher spot on the food chain with Tier 1 carriers internationally.
Can’t argue with that. While Calix has been expanding its profile beyond the tier 3 US carriers that it has done the best with, having Ericsson resell its access systems internationally seems like it can only help that effort. For its part, Ericsson seems to simply be streamlining its efforts.
Financial terms were not disclosed, but Calix’s headcount will get a boost of 61 as it takes on 61 of Ericsson’s Silicon Valley employees. The deal will close in the fourth quarter, and Calix expects it to be accretive to non-GAAP earnings per share.