Identity of Sphere Networks buyer revealed

Taiwan-based networking and communications manufacturer Accton is the company that recently acquired UAE start-up Sphere Networks, itp.net can reveal.

Sphere, which has received investments from Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority and Intel Capital during the past four years, recently finalised the takeover to bring the business under Taiwanese control.

With the transaction completed, Sphere CEO Mohamed Hamedi confirmed that Accton was the buyer of its technology, calling it "one of the major OEM/ODMs for tier-one networking vendors".

Publicly-listed Accton has been in existence for more than two decades and boasts sales offices in a number of international markets. According to its website, 40% of the manufacturer's 2,500-employees are in engineering positions.

Accton posted revenues of more than US$300m during the first nine months of this year. Its monthly sales report for September shows that 68% of its revenues came from Ethernet switches, 15% from wireless products and 10% from gateway and broadband equipment. The remaining 7% was generated from other product categories.

Speaking about the deal last month before the identity of its suitor was revealed, Hamedi said Sphere's network management software remained the primary motivation for the tie-up.

"What they have done is actually acquired the technology and they are integrating it as part of their product portfolio," he said. "Traditionally the company has been very hardware-focused, doing a lot of OEM work for the major vendors. They are going to use our technology as a differentiator to start putting their foot into the brand business and begin competing with other networking vendors."