TECHNOLOGY - April 16, 1996
Security Dynamics Buys RSA Data for $200 Million: The maker of secure products for the computer industry said it will acquire the tiny but well-known RSA Data Security Inc. in a stock deal valued at $200 million. RSA is a privately held firm in Redwood City, Calif., that develops data encryption software, which is fast becoming the standard for security on the Internet. Last year RSA had profit of $950,000 on revenue of $11.7 million, but its software is used everywhere, including in the popular Netscape Navigator on the Internet. The agreement calls for Cambridge, Mass.-based Security Dynamics Technologies Inc. to issue 4 million shares of its common stock in exchange for all of the outstanding shares of RSA. Security Dynamics’ stock climbed $13.125 to $62.75 on Nasdaq.
PageNet Top Bidder in Communications Auction: The Plano, Texas-based company was the highest bidder in a federal auction of more than a thousand licenses for dispatch, paging and wireless telephone services. The Federal Communications Commission’s auction ended after more than four months of bidding reached $204.3 million. A separate auction of next-generation cellular licenses known as Personal Communications Services, or PCS, continues with total bids just under $10 billion. Paging Network of America Inc. already provides paging service in 50 states and the District of Columbia. The company has now added licenses for markets in Los Angeles and 125 other areas, for which it bid $45.5 million.
