Red Hat has announced an agreement to purchase privately-held WireSpeed Communications Corporation (Huntsville, AL), for approximately 1.5M shares of Red Hat stock. WireSpeed, a developer of network and telecommunications software components for embedded systems, will be integrated into Red Hat's Client Services Group. That group is chartered to provide custom engineering services to developing next-generation Internet infrastructure solutions, including appliances, handhelds, and other post-PC and deeply embedded devices. The acquisition is expected to be completed by July 31, 2000.

WireSpeed is a developer of Linux based network and telecommunications software for embedded systems. WireSpeed's clients include semiconductor, Internet device, and industrial control product manufacturers, including companies like Hewlett-Packard, Interphase, NETsilicon, STMicroelectronics, and Time Domain Corporation.

Regarding the acquisition, Red Hat president and CEO Matthew Szulik said “the addition of WireSpeed's embedded development expertise helps Red Hat continue to meet the tremendous demand for embedded development. Wirespeed's expertise in telecommunications and networking for embedded systems also strengthens Red Hat's position as the technology and market leader for Open Source Internet Infrastructure solutions ranging from powerful servers to the smallest embedded devices.”

Andrew Bailey, President of WireSpeed, said “the combination of WireSpeed and Red Hat will help companies bring a new paradigm of post-PC, Open Source computing to market more quickly.”

The Wirespeed acquisition offers further evidence of Red Hat's intention to be a major player in the Internet appliance and embedded device markets. Earlier this year, Red Hat completed its acquisition of Cygnus Solutions, a prominent open source embedded technology and development tool company.

Red Hat's Client Services Group

Red Hat's growing Client Services Group is chartered to provide custom engineering services to top companies worldwide, helping them quickly create and deploy next-generation Internet infrastructure solutions, including appliances, handhelds and other post-PC and deeply embedded devices. With the addition of Cygnus and WireSpeed, Red Hat's Client Services Group now consists of more than a hundred software developers.

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