Tekelec, which has a major facility in Morrisville, is acquiring one of its strategic business partners in a deal with $56 million.
The deal was announced Friday morning before the markets opened.
Tekelec (Nasdaq: TKLC) said it would pay $29 million in cash and $27 million in stock for Steleus Group, which provides network intelligence and performance management services.
The companies had worked together on projects involving top-tier communications network carriers.
Tekelec said the deal would “advance its network and service performance management capabilities, enhance its applications portfolio and extend the company’s global reach.”
Rick Mase, the chief executive officer and chairman of Steleus, will join Tekelec as the head of its new Communications Software Solutions business unit. Steleus products and services will be part of that group, Tekelec said.
“Steleus has proven that its software-centric approach reduces time to market for new services and speeds the migration to next-generation networks, while lowering the risk, because operators can monitor the quality of new services immediately,” said Fred Lax, Tekelec president and CEO, in a statement. “Consequently, operators are able to achieve higher average revenue per user, increase profitability and reduce customer churn. Tekelec has enjoyed a successful partnership with Steleus, delivering value-added solutions to premier operators around the globe, and we have already begun aligning our product roadmaps as part of this relationship.”
Steleus develops General Packet Radio Services (GPRS) and Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) solution plus intelligence applications to combat fraud, ensure quality of service and analyze customer behavior. It has more than 100 customers in more than 35 countries.
Tekelec: www.tekelec.com
