Arris reportedly set to bid $1B on Brocade network edge unit

Arris is in talks with Broadcom to possibly pay around $1 billion for Brocade’s wireless network edge business, Reuters reports.

An Arris rep told FierceCable that the company doesn’t comment on “market rumors and speculation.”

The report comes after Arris CFO David Potts told investors last week that the vendor might transition into serving the wireless needs of its customers. Among Arris’ clients, Comcast is developing a wireless service based on its MVNO relationship with Verizon.

RELATED: Arris CFO Potts: It’s possible we could expand into wireless

In early November, Broadcom paid $5.9 billion to acquire network gear manufacturer Brocade. 

Brocade is a major supplier in the NFV and SDN market and earlier last year bought Ruckus, which sells Wi-Fi services and equipment to enterprises and service providers, in a deal valued at $1.2 billion. Brocade also offers software and storage products.

Immediately after its Brocade purchase, Broadcom announced that it plans to sell Brocade's networking business. “In terms of our IP Networking business, due to competitive overlap with some of Broadcom’s most important customers, Broadcom will seek a buyer for the business,” Brocade CEO Lloyd Carney wrote on the company’s website.

Reuters said Arris is only looking for the Brocade unit that sells network edge equipment, and not other divisions that sell products like data center gear.  

RELATED: Broadcom to pay $5.9B to acquire Brocade

The speculation comes just a little over a year after Arris closed its $2.1 billion acquisition of rival set-top maker Pace. In his talk last week at a Needham investor event, Potts said the integration of Pace is all but completed.