Virata Corporation

Merger with Globespan

The product offering was stronger on communications processors and integrated networking software than it was on physical layer and DSL firmware. Downturns in the telecommunications market and increasing consolidation in the DSL sector led to the proposal of a merger in October 2001 with Globespan, a company headquartered in Red Bank, NJ. It was projected that the combined company would have a capitalization of $1.3 billion, valuing Virata at $620 million of the new merged company's stock. On 14 December 2001, the respective shareholders approved the merger and Globespan shareholders also approved changing the name of the company to GlobespanVirata, Inc. The company subsequently traded on NASDAQ under the symbol "GSPN".

GlobespanVirata continued to be the market leader in the DSL semiconductor market in 2002 with revenues of $226 million and 28% revenue market share. The Cambridge R&D team continued to design silicon and software for the high-end DSL devices and were involved in the integration of technology from further acquisitions such as the Intersil 802.11 wireless technology.

In an effort to reduce operating costs GlobespanVirata embarked on a series of site closures and employee headcount reduction. In August 2002, it closed the Raleigh and Maynard offices, for example, and there were lay-offs at most sites.

Merger with Conexant

The DSL semiconductor market became increasingly commoditized and, in November 2003, Conexant Systems and GlobespanVirata announced an agreement to combine the two companies in a strategic merger. The merger was completed on 1 March 2004.