Ericsson, a world leader in telecommunications technology and service, has reached an agreement with Providence Equity Partners (News - Alert), LLC and Warburg Pincus to acquire Telcordia, a global leader in the development of mobile, broadband and enterprise communications software and services, for $1.15 billion, subject to customary regulatory approvals.
“The importance of operations and business support systems will continue to grow as more and more devices are connected, services become mobile and new business models for mobile broadband are introduced,” said Hans Vestberg, president and CEO of Ericsson, in a release. “In this context, Telcordia (News - Alert) brings very skilled people and knowledge, a large business in North America and other markets, as well as a good multi vendor product portfolio.”
“We have global presence and scale, global services capabilities and superior knowledge about networks and network performance, as well as an already established position in the OSS/BSS space. It is a perfect fit.”
According to Ericsson (News 
- Alert), one of the main challenges for operators is how to handle the growth in mobile and fixed broadband traffic, as well as the new types of connected devices, services and applications, while at the same time increasing business and operations efficiency.
OSS and BSS are critical areas to handle this challenge and to simplify the processes that support the business as they drive the customer experience and serve as the engine to monetizing traffic, offerings and products that operators sell.
“The combination of Ericsson's global leadership position and Telcordia's long-standing expertise in solving the most complex communications challenges will benefit customers through new services and expanded capabilities,” said Mark Greenquist, president and chief executive officer of Telcordia.
“Together, we will lead the way into a new era of converged communications, while expanding our offerings to manage the world's most dynamic networks. Ericsson's acquisition of Telcordia signals their commitment to their future strategy to capitalize on the growth opportunities in the OSS/BSS communications industry. We appreciate the significant value added by Providence and Warburg Pincus (News - Alert) over the last six years.”
The acquisition creates a leader in Service Fulfilment, Service Assurance and Network Optimization. The combination will address the needs of Communications Service Providers to deliver mobile broadband and operational transformation to their subscribers.
New Jersey-based Telcordia, employing more than 2,600 people, generated revenues of nearly $750 million last year.
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John Lahtinen is Community Development Editor for TMCnet. He has more than 15 years of combined professional and educational experience involving news, education, and marketing. John holds a master's degree in journalism from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University and a bachelor's degree in English from the State University of New York at Plattsburgh. To read more of his articles, please visit his columnist page.
Edited by Jennifer Russell
