Motorola and Netopia announced recently that the two companies have signed a definitive merger agreement, under which Motorola will acquire all of the outstanding shares of Netopia's common stock.

Netopia is one of the leaders in providing carrier-class broadband customer premise equipment (CPE), remote management software, and broadband services to telecom operators worldwide. The company provides a full portfolio of products designed for DSL networks, including wired and wireless modems, routers, and gateways. The company's products deliver voice, video, data, and other advanced services to residential and business customers.

The acquisition enables Motorola to further address the global broadband DSL opportunity. Netopia's carrier-class portfolio of products and technologies extends Motorola's current solutions for the emerging IPTV opportunity. Furthermore, Netopia's software solutions add unique service and device management capabilities to Motorola. This proven platform provides for the centralized management of IP-based gateways, modems, and voice-over-IP equipment.

Upon completion of the transaction, Netopia will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Motorola and will be integrated into Motorola's Connected Home Solutions business.

The acquisition is expected to be completed in early 2007.