Cisco to complete AYR purchase

Cisco Systems, which currently holds a minority interest in AYR Networks, has declared that it will buy the remaining shares of the privately-held firm, in a deal valued at about $113m.

The acquisition of AYR, which develops high-performance distributed networking services and highly scalable routing software, will boost Cisco's ability to accelerate software integration from multiple sources and bring about a faster time to market for new features.

In addition, AYR's expertise in developing software for distributed routing architectures will support Cisco's ongoing efforts to increase network performance.

Cisco chief executive John Chambers has indicated that the company plans to buy between eight and 12 small to medium sized companies this year. AYR is the third so far, after Hammerhead Networks and Navarro Networks in June.

Under the terms of the agreement, Cisco common stock worth up to $113m will be exchanged for all outstanding shares and options of AYR not already owned by Cisco.

AYR's 30 employees, along with chief executive Tom Grennan, will join Cisco's Internet Technologies Division.