Extreme Networks pays $194m for Enterasys

Extreme Networks has announced its intention to snap up fellow switch maker Enterasys Networks for US$180 million (AU$194 million) in cash.

Extreme said in a statement that the acquisition was driven by a need to achieve scale in a market dominated by the likes of Cisco, Juniper Networks, HP and Brocade and the numerous vendors that rebadge Brocade's equipment.

NetworkWorld reports that there is "almost no overlap" between the customer bases of Extreme and Enterasys, meaning Extreme will effectively double in size.

The two firms have been linked to a potential buyout going back as early as 2008; however, at that point it was thought to have been Enterasys that was doing the shopping, rather than Extreme.

Enterasys has approximately 900 employees and US$330 million in annual revenue. It has an Australian office in Chatswood in Sydney's north.

Australian customers of Enterasys include Quiksilver and NSW independent school Redlands.