Ciena Ends Deal Diet With Buyout of World Wide Packets

It's been quiet on the deal front at Ciena Corp. (CIEN), the telecommunications equipment maker that once boasted an effective acquisition strategy to pull itself out of the telecom bust years back, but which more recently has tightened its purse strings. 

On Tuesday, Ciena ended that self-imposed diet with a $290 million purchase of World Wide Packets, a privately held company that makes technology used in delivering carrier Ethernet services, a fast-growing market estimated to surpass $25 billion by 2010. Ciena has fared better than many of its telecom gear peers in recent years, enjoying consistently strong growth in sales and earnings, but remains challenged to compete with larger rivals.  - Andrea Orr

See June 2007 story from Tech Confidential
See Jan. 22 press release from Ciena