Broadcom Buys Networking Firm Brocade For £4.5bn But Will Sell Off Ruckus Wireless

Chip maker Broadcom is acquiring fibre channel and storage area networking firm Brocade for $5.5 billion (£4.5bn).

As part of the deal, Broadcom plans to sell Brocade’s IP Networking business, comprising wireless and campus networking, data centre switching and routing, and software networking. This includes offloading Ruckus Wireless, which Brocade only acquired for £1 billion earlier this year.

Broadcom Brocade

“This strategic acquisition enhances Broadcom’s position as one of the leading providers of enterprise storage connectivity solutions,” said Hock Tan, Broadcom CEO.

“With deep expertise in mission-critical storage networking, Brocade increases our ability to address the evolving needs of our OEM customers. In addition, we are confident that we will find a great home for Brocade’s valuable IP networking business that will best position that business for its next phase of growth.”

“This transaction … creates new opportunities for our customers and partners,” said Lloyd Carney, Brocade CEO.

“Our best-in-class FC SAN solutions will help Broadcom create one of the industry’s broadest portfolios for enterprise storage. We will work with Broadcom as it seeks to find a buyer for our IP Networking business, which includes a full portfolio of open hardware and software-based solutions spanning the core of the data centre to the network edge.”

The deal is not subject to the sale of Brocade’s IP Networking business and is expected to be completed next year.

When completed, the takeover will mark the latest wave of consolidation in the industry. Broacde bought Ruckus in April to strengthen its 5G and Wi-Fi capabilities. But now it seems the benefit of this comprehensive network portfolio will be enjoyed by someone else.

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Originally published on ChannelBiz