Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Mazu Networks sold for $25M

By Mass High Tech staff

Mazu Networks Inc., a Cambridge-based provider of network behavior analysis systems, has been sold to San Francisco WAN optimization firm Riverbed Technology Inc. The deal closed with a $25 million cash upfront payment to Mazu, and includes the potential for up to an additional $22 million in cash based on certain sales targets achieved.

Mazu’s software serves as an analysis and reporting tool for application use — a complementing package for Riverbed (Nasdaq: RVBD), which develops the WAN optimization products that could benefit from the analytical support of Mazu’s reports.

The deal is expected to close by the end of March this year, Riverbed officials said in a statement.

In a letter to its customers posted online, Mazu Networks CEO Paul Brady explained the deal as a “merger” that will result with Mazu forming an “independent group within Riverbed’s corporate structure.”

Founded in 2000, Mazu is privately funded by a syndicate of investors including information security company Symantec Corp., and local venture firms Greylock Partners and Matrix Partners.

The company was co-founded by former MIT students Max Poletto and Eddie Kohler who developed their dissertation research into the basis of the company.