PETALUMA -- Calix, Inc. (NYSE:CALX) and Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC) today announced an agreement under which the Petaluma telecom equipment maker will acquire Stockholm-based Ericsson’s fiber access assets.
The two companies also announced a global reseller agreement, under which Calix will become Ericsson’s preferred global partner for broadband access applications.
The acquisition brings together the industry’s highest capacity GPON solution, deployed by major service providers worldwide, with North America’s leading access portfolio, according to Calix. Ericsson’s fiber access assets expected to be included are the Ericsson EDA 1500 GPON solution and its complementary ONT portfolio.
The agreement also calls for Calix to offer employment for up to 61 U.S.-based employees of Ericsson, as well as the transition of ongoing support of the acquired products from Ericsson to Calix.
The global reseller agreement between the two companies allows Ericsson to sell Calix Unified Access systems and software as its preferred fiber and VDSL2 access solution in 180 countries worldwide, the two companies said.
"This partnership provides Calix ... with an extensive new global reseller channel, while our acquisition of Ericsson’s fiber access portfolio delivers powerful new complements to our industry-leading Unified Access portfolio,” said Carl Russo, president and CEO of Calix, in a statement. It also "allows Ericsson to fully leverage its strengths in wireless and end-to-end services while relying on Calix to provide innovation and expertise in fixed-line broadband access."
The partnership will last three years. Financial terms of the transaction, expected to close in the fourth quarter, were not disclosed.
“We believe that this partnership will provide our existing fiber access customers with world-class support and maintenance, and an expanded portfolio of access systems and software from a leading company totally focused on access,” said Jan Häglund, vice president and head of product area IP and broadband at Ericsson.
In after hours trading, Calix stock rose 8.7 percent to $5.75 per share.
Ericsson operates in 180 countries and employs more than 100,000 people. In 2011, the company had revenues of SEK 226.9 billion ($35 billion). Ericsson is listed on NASDAQ OMX, Stockholm and NASDAQ, New York stock exchanges.
