Cisco Systems Inc hasn’t acquired any companies for at least two weeks – the last was Skystone Systems Corp (CI No 3,178), so it made up for it yesterday with two buys. First it grabbed Global Internet Software Group, one of the pioneers of high-security version of Windows NT suitable for government certification regulations (CI No 3,033). Cisco paid $40.2m in cash for all the shares in Palo Alto, California-based Global Software, and took an undisclosed minority stake in the unit’s parent company, Global Internet.Com, which builds, manages and secures corporate networks. It expects to deliver a Windows NT network firewall suite by integrating its own PIX firewall with Global’s Centri Security Manager, and will also take advantage of the parent company’s network integration skills. All of Global Software’s 20 employees transfer to Cisco. Cisco also acquired Ardent Communications Corp, a one year-old San Jose, California-based start-up founded by Cascade Communications Corp co-founder Wu Fu Chen. Ardent, with 40 employees, manufactures advanced access products and will become part of Cisco’s Multiservice Access Business Unit. $156m worth of Cisco Common Stock will be exchanged for the outstanding shares and options of Ardent, in which Cisco and Sequoia Capital already held minority stakes.
