Sweden’s Ericsson has agreed to buy US-based wireless networking company Cradlepoint in a $1.1 billion cash deal as part of plans to expand its 5G-related products for its business customers.

The deal is Ericsson’s largest transaction in more than a decade.

Cradlepoint will become a fully owned subsidiary of Ericsson while continuing to operate under its existing brand.

Cradlepoint employees will remain within the company, headquartered in Boise, Idaho.

“The investment is key to Ericsson’s ongoing strategy of capturing market share in the rapidly expanding 5G Enterprise space,” said Ericsson.

“Cradlepoint complements Ericsson’s existing 5G Enterprise portfolio which includes Dedicated Networks and a global IoT platform. 

“The combined offering will create valuable new revenue streams for customers by supporting full 5G-enabled services for enterprise, and boost returns on investments in the network.”

Ericsson Börje Ekholm said: “Portfolio-near acquisitions are an integral part of our earlier communicated strategy.

“The acquisition of Cradlepoint complements our existing offerings and is key to our strategy of helping customers grow the value of their 5G network investments.

“Ericsson is uniquely positioned to build on Cradlepoint’s leadership position in Wireless Edge and the wireless WAN market.

“Combining the scale of our market access and established relationships with the world’s biggest mobile operators we are making a strong investment to support our customers to grow in this exciting market.”

Ericsson said the acquisition price amounts to an enterprise value of $1.1 billion with the transaction expected to close before the end of Q4 2020, subject to closing conditions.

The purchase price, funded from Ericsson’s cash-in-hand, is paid in full on closing.