Cisco Goes WiMax With Navini Deal

Cisco Systems has finally put its weight squarely behind WiMax wireless broadband technology, announcing on Tuesday a $330 million agreement to buy the privately held Navini Networks.
Dallas-based Navini, founded in 2000, is a leading developer of technologies that improve the performance of WiMax services and that can cut the capital and operational expenditures for service providers by as much as 50 percent, Cisco said.
WiMax, which stands for Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access, is a wireless broadband technology that can travel over much greater distances than Wi-Fi.
The deal marks a decent exit for Navini’s many venture capital backers, which poured roughly $200 million into the startup over six rounds. Backers include Austin Ventures; Acapita Ventures, the venture capital arm of Arcapita Bank; Scottwood Capital; Granite Ventures; Investor Growth Capital; Lehman Brothers Venture Partners; Sternhill Partners; Intel Corp.’s Intel Capital and Motorola Ventures, the corporate V.C. arm of Motorola.
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