Is CommScope acquiring Arris International?

There are reports doing the rounds that CommScope is acquiring Arris International. CommScope is said to be primarily interested in Arris’s set-top box business. The company had also acquired the Ruckus brand of wireless LAN and other networking products and technologies back in December 2017. According to Arris’s website, it serves the following markets - cable, telco, satellite, programmers/broadcasters, over-the-top, and enterprise.

Both Arris’s and CommScope’s business have been challenged as a result of some of their products being seen by their customers as more commoditized and easily substituted.

According to the report, trading of Arris stock was halted temporarily on the 24th due to volatility. After resuming trading in the final hour of the trading day-and when news of the acquisition talks emerged-Arris stock was up to a high of $25.38 on the 24th before closing at $24.06. It had opened the day at $22.47. The $24.06 closing price on the 24th put Arris’s market cap at approximately $4.34 billion.

If the buyout happens, CommScope will also be acquiring a portfolio of enterprise wireless products and technologies. Through the Ruckus brand, Arris provides indoor and outdoor wireless access points as well as radio access controller technology. Other products in Arris’s enterprise portfolio include IP switches, wireless routing and policy enforcement equipment, management software, as well as fixed-wireless and telco broadband devices.