Although terms weren’t disclosed, Flagship Ventures, which co-led the company’s $8.7m Series A round back in December 2002, has stated that everyone involved has made money on the deal.
Chantry Networks had previously raised $26m in venture capital, and in October this year Siemens Venture Capital, Siemens’ investment arm, led Chantry’s $6m Series B funding round. Before that, Siemens had worked with Chantry for some time as technology partners.
Waltham, Massachusetts-based Chantry is perhaps best known for its BeaconWorks and BeaconMaster WLAN switches and appliances, its line of access points, and wireless voice and data convergence offerings. Siemens is apparently planning to use Chantry’s technology to expand its HiPath network management product line.
The WLAN market has seen several significant moves lately. The acquisition follows last month’s news that wireless networking start-up MeshNetworks Inc would be acquired by mobile handset maker Motorola Inc. Additionally, a competitor of Chantry, namely ReefEdge Networks Inc, announced last month that it had cut staff and was reworking its strategy following consolidation in the industry.
Chantry’s acquisition is expected to be finalized in early 2005, and it signals Siemens’ intent to offer an integrated enterprise network management platform capable of handling the convergence of wired, wireless and voice systems.
In October, the company merged its wireless and wired business units in a new group called Siemens Communications. This group combined Siemens’ mobile unit (which produces mobile phones and carrier equipment), with the network unit that produces networking gear for both enterprises and carriers.
According to reports, Chantry will remain as a separate business unit, and its executives, including president and CEO Peter Vicars, are to remain with the combined company. More importantly, no layoffs are expected.
