GlobespanVirata in talks to buy MystiCom, says report

GlobespanVirata in talks to buy MystiCom, says report
By Semiconductor Business News
February 9, 2003 (2:00 p.m. EST)
URL: http://www.eetimes.com/story/OEG20030209S0005

RED BANK, N.J.--GlobespanVirata Inc. is holding initial talks to acquire physical-layer chip specialist MystiCom Ltd. for $80-to-$100 million, according to a report from Reuters.

The report cited the Ha'aretz daily in Israel, which claims the digital subscriber line (DSL) chip maker GlobespanVirata began the talks several months ago with MystiCom, based in Netanya, Israel.

GlobespanVirata of Red Bank has made several acquisitions in the past. In 2001, GlobeSpan Inc. acquired Virata Corp. for $1.3 billion in stock, thereby creating GlobespanVirata (see Oct. 1, 2001 story ).

Formed in 1987, MystiCom has 85 employees and has raised $42 million in four financing rounds. Last year, Mysticom Inc. demonstrated a transceiver that set a new watermark for high-end Ethernet signaling over copper wires, sending 10-Gbit/second signals over 25 meter copper using Infiniban d cables, and over 10 meters using Category 5 unshielded twisted pair (see Sept. 27, 2002 story ).