Cisco to Acquire CoreOptics for 40/100G Electronic Distortion Equalization

Cisco will acquire CoreOptics, a designer of digital signal processing (DSP) solutions for high-speed optical networking, for approximately $99 million in cash and retention-based incentives.

CoreOptics supplies 10G and 40G Distortion Tolerant MSA Modules and IC solutions for optical networking. Its Electronic Distortion Equalization (EDE) technology leverages Maximum Likelihood Sequence Estimation (MLSE)to address the physical layer challenges of optical fiber transmission. CoreOptics’ algorithms are implemented using a DSP architecture.

The acquisition of CoreOptics expands Cisco’s optical presence in Europe and builds on its existing European operations in Monza, Italy. CoreOptics will bring to Cisco a team with strong expertise in digital ASIC design, advanced modulation formats, as well as optical systems, applications and network architecture. Upon completion of the acquisition, CoreOptics employees will become part of the Cisco Service Provider Technology Group and work with Cisco’s existing optical engineering teams in Monza, Italy; Bangalore, India; and Richardson, Texas.
http://www.cisco.com
http://www.coreoptics.com

• CoreOptics was founded in 2001 and has received financing from T-com, GIMV, Crescendo Ventures, TVM, High Tech Private Equity, Atila Ventures, Quest for Growth and others. The company has operations in Nuremberg and Stuttgart, Germany and San Jose, California.
• CoreOptics is headed by Mr. Hamid Arabzadeh, who previously was the General Manager and Vice President of Next Generation Metro Optical Networks at Nortel Networks.