Juniper Acquiring WLAN Vendor Trapeze Networks

Juniper, Inc. (NASDAQ: JNPR) is acquiring enterprise WLAN vendor Trapeze Networks for $152M according to a Jefferies report published today.

In a note to clients, Jefferies writes, "JNPR entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Trapeze Networks from Belden (BDC, NC) for $152M in cash. The transaction is expected to close in Q4'10. According to Gartner, Trapeze had 2009 sales of $37M, which values the deal at 4.1x trailing sales. Trapeze has been a player in the WLAN market for many years
(historically sold through OEMs), but growth may have stagnated in recent years. Belden acquired Trapeze in July 2008 for $136M. We think Trapeze's WLAN assets have a better fit with Juniper's networking biz vs. Belden's cable products biz."

JNPR maintains a Buy rating and is trading at $33.81.