Cabletron Systems Inc. agreed Tuesday to buy Digital Equipment Corp.’s networking equipment business for $430 million to gain customers overseas and in the fast-growing telecommunications market.
Rochester-based Cabletron will pay Digital $130 million in cash and stock and provide $300 million in product credits. Digital also agreed to buy $1 billion in computer networking products during the next 3 1/2 years, Cabletron said.
More than half of Maynard, Mass.-based Digital’s networking sales come from overseas, giving Cabletron a quick boost toward its goal of generating 50 percent of its own revenue abroad by 2000. Digital, in contrast, is paring businesses to focus on selling computers and services after losing money in five of the last seven years.
