money 88.
(photo credit: )
Radware Ltd. has made no comment about being on the shelf for months, but it
clearly is attracting interest among other communications equipment
makers.
Riverbed Technology Inc. has entered the race against Hewlett
Packard Co., which is still in talks to acquire Radware. The bidding by the two
companies is about $47 per share, reflecting a company value for Radware of $900
million to $1 billion, a 45 percent premium on its current market
cap.
Radware’s share rose 19.1% at the opening on Nasdaq to $39.03,
giving a market cap of $745m.
Radware is sticking with its “no comment”
policy of recent months with regard to Riverbed’s entry into the picture. At the
conference call following the publication of Radware’s third-quarter financial
report, executives declined to comment on the negotiations for the acquisition
of the company, merely saying, “The company is keeping its eyes and ears open
for opportunities to increase value for shareholders.”
Radware knows
Riverbed well. The two companies complement each other in terms of technological
capabilities, they collaborate in the distribution of products, and sometimes
they submit joint bids in tenders for communications
infrastructures.
Riverbed, founded in 2003, is considered an industry
star. It has a market cap of $5.1b. and posted a net profit of $13m. on $147m.
revenue for the third quarter.
The proposed merger is not just between
two companies but also between two fields of business. Radware makes products to
improve the performance of applications by routing Internet traffic load
(application delivery controller, or ADC), and Riverbed offers enterprise
network optimization solutions between remote branches (WAN optimization
controller, or WOC).