IBM acquires Nortel spin-off BLADE Network Technolgies for a reported $400M

IBM announced today that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire BLADE Network Technologies for a reported purchase price of US$400 million. 

BLADE Network Technologies specializes in software and devices that route data and transactions to and from servers. The Santa Clara, CA-based company, which operates a research subsidiary in Ottawa, was formed in 2002 as a division of Nortel, but was spun-off by Founder, President and CEO, Vikram Mehta in 2006 with the help of venture buy-out firm Garnett & Helfrich Capital.

The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2010. 

Biran Truskowski is the General Manager of IBM's System Storage and Networking business unit:

"BLADE will help IBM better integrate networks with its systems, optimizing them for workloads that require high-speed and low-latency performance such as cloud computing and business analytics. For example, faster data transport enables faster decisions important for analytics workloads. BLADE will increase IBM's System Networking development, sales, support, skills and awareness and help IBM build smarter systems that are optimized for client requirements."

More details on the transaction can be found in the official release.