Spirent Agrees to Acquire Radvision's Technology Business Unit

London, UK – 2 July 2014: Spirent Communications plc (“Spirent”, the “Company” or the “Group”) (LSE: SPT), a leading communications technology company, announces today that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the assets of Radvision’s Technology Business Unit (TBU), the part of the Radvision business responsible for delivering industry-leading developer solutions, for a cash consideration of $25.0 million, funded from existing cash resources.  Based in Tel Aviv, Israel, the Radvision TBU offers a complete development and test suite for Voice and Video over IP communications, including Voice over LTE (VoLTE), and is currently part of Radvision Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Avaya Inc. (“Avaya”).

Radvision TBU pioneered the introduction of Voice and Video over IP with a range of embedded technologies and test solutions, combining unique expertise in signalling, multimedia and IMS.  Used by developers of mobile chipsets, mobile devices and communications infrastructure, as well as service providers worldwide, Radvision TBU’s solutions have helped enable the majority of today’s Voice and Video over IP deployments, such as VoLTE.  Key solutions include:

• Lab-based Test Tools—ProLab testing suite is a highly scalable and feature-rich real-time testing solution for voice and video over LTE devices and emulates a wide range of real-world network conditions.  ProLab will enable Spirent to significantly strengthen its own Voice over LTE (VoLTE) test offering, ensuring the readiness of networks and devices to support a wide range of services that can provide and maintain the expected Quality of Service (QoS).

• Protocol Stacks—The Radvision TBU’s award-winning suite of protocol stacks, including IMS and SIP, provides the communications industry with the core technology behind rich media applications and products, while it’s Developer Suites simplify and accelerate the development of all types of VoIP and 3G/LTE multimedia applications and services.

• Video Communications Client Framework—BEEHD video client software is a complete framework that allows Service Providers, application developers and device manufacturers to launch customizable IMS-compliant VoLTE/RCS services for Android, iOS, Windows, or MAC OS-based devices.

• Voice and Video Services Monitoring—The eVident solution allows users to proactively ensure network readiness before voice and video services are deployed, helping to ensure Quality of Service (QoS) of Enterprise-grade Voice and Video over IP services.

“VoLTE testing is already a critical element in many of Spirent’s test solutions. Our customers’ transition from circuit-switched voice networks to all-IP networks presents huge opportunities for VoLTE and RCS services on mobile devices,” said Eric Hutchinson, CEO of Spirent. “The addition of Radvision’s Technology Business Unit will expand Spirent’s test solution portfolio to meet the needs of our customers, from early in the development cycle right through to deployment, helping to save many man-years in development time and cost.” 

“Radvision TBU has been at the leading-edge of providing developer toolkits and test and measurement solutions that enable mobile chip and device vendors, wireless and wireline infrastructure vendors, as well as Service Providers deliver voice and video products to market faster and with better quality,” said Boaz Raviv, Vice President, Video Collaboration Solutions, Avaya.  “Radvision’s TBU voice and video delivery software will provide Spirent’s VoLTE customers with proven tools to rapidly add voice, video and messaging services to their applications and devices.”

Spirent plans to maintain and strengthen the Radvision TBU portfolio of products and services and will integrate them into Spirent’s test solutions.

Avaya, through Radvision Ltd., will retain and continue to operate its video conferencing business under the Video Business Unit.  

The acquisition is expected to be earnings enhancing and cash generative in the first full year, and have a return on investment in excess of cost of capital.  For the full year ended 30 September 2013, TBU unaudited financial information showed profit before tax of $2.7 million and gross assets of $4.0 million. TBU will be reported as part of Spirent’s Wireless and Service Experience division.

The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to close within 30 to 60 days. For more information visit: www.spirent.com.