Arris is active in the customer premises equipment (CPE), network & cloud and enterprise networks markets. In the case of the latter, its presence has been recently bolstered through the $800m acquisition of Brocade's Ruckus Wireless and ICX Switch Business. The two parties expect that the transaction will close in the first half of 2019, subject to regulatory approvals and the consent of Arris shareholders.
As a result of the combined company’s increased scale, CommScope expects to achieve annual cost savings of at least $150 million within three years of the close of the acquisition, with $60m of these expected to be realised within the first year. It will have approximately 15,000 patents, around $800m in annual R&D investments and will serve customers in more than 150 countries.
“After a comprehensive evaluation of our business and the evolving industry we operate in, we are confident that combining with ARRIS is the best path forward for CommScope to grow and provide the greatest returns for shareholders,” said Eddie Edwards, president and CEO, CommScope. “CommScope and ARRIS will bring together a unique set of complementary assets and capabilities that enable end-to-end wired and wireless communications infrastructure solutions that neither company could otherwise achieve on its own. With ARRIS, we will access new and growing markets, and have greater technology, solutions and employee talent that will provide additional value and benefit to our customers and partners.
“CommScope and ARRIS share a customer-first culture that emphasises innovation, made possible by incredibly talented and experienced teams of people. As we have with numerous transactions in the past, we expect to work together with Bruce McClelland and the ARRIS team to create a best-in-class management team and achieve a seamless integration. Together, CommScope and ARRIS will be well positioned to serve a more diverse set of customers and generate substantial value for our shareholders.”
ARRIS CEO Bruce McClelland said, “CommScope is an ideal partner for ARRIS. In addition to providing immediate and substantial cash value to our shareholders, we are excited for what this combination will deliver for our customers, partners and employees around the world. Today’s agreement is a testament to the strength of ARRIS: our leading technology, talented employees and established competitive position. With CommScope, we expect to further advance ARRIS’ strategy to drive innovation across our iconic brands and pioneer the standards and pathways for tomorrow’s personalised, connected always-on consumer experience. ARRIS will become part of an even stronger, more global industry leader, and I look forward to working with the CommScope team to achieve great results for the combined company.”
Following completion of the combination, Eddie Edwards will continue in his role and Bruce McClelland and other members of the Arris leadership team will join the combined company.
