Extreme Networks may be gearing up for its biggest swing in years. Reports say the company is considering acquiring CommScope’s Ruckus enterprise networking business in a deal that could top $1B. This move that would reshape both vendors’ futures.

Why it matters: This goes beyond typical M&A noise. Ruckus is a well-known player in enterprise and campus Wi-Fi, especially in regulated and high-density environments. If the acquisition were to be complete, this would expand the scale, portfolio, and position of Extreme Networks against incumbents like Cisco and HPE.

What’s happening:

  • Bloomberg reports Extreme is evaluating a cash-and-stock deal valuing Ruckus at over $1B.

  • CommScope has been aggressively selling assets, including its CCS and mobile networks businesses to Amphenol.

  • Ruckus has bounced between owners for years, including, Arris, Brocade, and Broadcom before it landed at CommScope via its 2019 Arris acquisition.

  • Neither Extreme nor CommScope has commented publicly, and a deal is not guaranteed.

What’s next:

If completed, this would be Extreme’s biggest enterprise move since buying Aerohive in 2019, and a clear signal it wants to play bigger in the campus networking space.

For Extreme, the goal is simple; build a respected enterprise alternative and expand the portfolio to suit specialized customer use cases. For CommScope, this is another step in a broader effort to slim down and reduce debt, which is totaled to be around $7.2B USD.

Uplink provides news for those who build, run, and care about networks. Every week, we break down the moves, mergers, and technologies shaping the enterprise networking industry, so you know what matters and why.

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