(July 28 – 10:15 ET) – Nortel Networks Corp. today siad it will acquire San Jose, Calif.-based Alteon WebSystems Inc. for US$7.8 billion in common shares.

Alteon is a leader in content aware switching, Nortel said, and the takeover will position it to build the next generation Internet data center, making it capable of delivering content at unprecedented levels of speed and efficiency.

Under a definitive merger agreement, Alteon shareholders will receive 1.83148 Nortel common shares for each of their shares, which equals US$144 apiece based on Thursday’s closing prices for both stocks.

-IE Staff