Ericsson acquires Cradlepoint for $1.1bn
Ericsson has announced that it will acquire US-based communications technology firm Cradlepoint in a $1.1bn deal.
“Portfolio-near acquisitions are an integral part of our earlier communicated strategy. The acquisition of Cradlepoint complements our existing offerings and is key to our strategy of helping customers grow the value of their 5G network investments,” said Börje Ekholm, President and CEO Ericsson, in a company press release.
“Ericsson is uniquely positioned to build on Cradlepoint’s leadership position in Wireless Edge and the wireless WAN market. Combining the scale of our market access and established relationships with the world’s biggest mobile operators we are making a strong investment to support our customers to grow in this exciting market.”
The deal, which was made public on Friday and is expected to close in Q4 2020, is key to Ericsson’s plans to capture a significant share of the rapidly expanding enterprise 5G market. The enterprise 5G market is expected to reach a total value of $2.2bn in 2020, and be worth an estimated $31.7bn by 2026. Ericsson has emerged as one of the leading 5G infrastructure companies over the past few years - announcing its first public 5G partnership back in 2014. In August of 2020, the company secured its 100th commercial 5G agreement with a unique partner: Telekom Slovenije.
Headquartered in Boise, Idaho, Cradlepoint has been a player in the enterprise wireless WAN solutions space since 2006. The company operates on a subscription model, which combines cloud-delivered software with hardware endpoints, support and training.
“We have led the way in bringing the power of cellular networks and technologies to enterprise and public sector customers – helping them connect beyond the limits of traditional wired WANs,” commented George Mulhern, CEO and Chairman, Cradlepoint. “Ericsson with its global 5G leadership is a great match for us and I am very excited to continue to scale and expand our business together.”
Ericsson’s existing solutions portfolio of dedicated networks and an IoT platform is, reportedly, complemented by Cradlepoint’s wireless edge WAN 4G and 5G enterprise solutions. 4G and 5G wireless WAN solutions are a valuable tool in delivering high-speed, low-latency, stable connections to enterprises.
Ericsson has announced that Cradlepoint will become a fully owned subsidiary of Ericsson while continuing to operate under its existing brand.