San Jose: Cisco Systems Inc. says it has agreed to buy Starent Networks Corp., which helps wireless carriers support smart phones, for $2.9 billion.
Starent, of Tewksbury, Massachusetts, makes equipment that allows carriers to tie their wireless networks to the Internet.
Cisco is paying $35 per share in cash and expects the deal to close early next year.
It is the second major acquisition in two weeks for Cisco, the world’s largest maker of computer networking gear. On 1 October, it announced a deal to buy Tandberg ASA, a leading maker of videoconferencing gear, for $3 billion.