Motorola Buys Netopia in $208M Deal

By Colleen Taylor -- Electronic News, 11/14/2006

Communications maven Motorola Inc. announced today it has inked a definitive merger agreement with Netopia Inc., under which Motorola will acquire all of the outstanding shares of Netopia common stock for $7 per share in cash. The transaction has a total equity value of approximately $208 million on a fully-diluted basis, Motorola said. As of September 30, Netopia had approximately $28 million of net cash.

Netopia is a provider of carrier-class broadband customer premise equipment (CPE), remote management software, and broadband services to telecom operators worldwide. The company provides products designed for DSL networks, including wired and wireless modems, routers, and gateways. The company's products deliver voice, video, data, and other services to residential and business customers.

"We are confident that combining Netopia's expertise in telecom CPE products with Motorola's proven track record of delivering connected home solutions to broadband providers worldwide will create exciting future growth opportunities for both companies," Alan Lefkof, president and CEO of Netopia, said in a statement.

Upon completion of the transaction, Netopia will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Motorola and will be integrated into Motorola's connected home solutions business. Motorola intends to maintain Netopia's Emeryville, CA, headquarters, which will serve as the new headquarters of Motorola's global voice and data CPE business. Alan Lefkof will also join Motorola, the company added.

The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approval and the approval of Netopia stockholders, and is expected to be completed in early 2007.

Also this week, Motorola announced the extension of its collaborative relationship with Qualcomm Inc.; the two companies will now be working together to bring UMTS handsets to global markets.