Virata to Buy Excess Bandwidth

Virata Corp., a maker of chips for Internet-access equipment, said it agreed to buy closely held Excess Bandwidth Corp. for about $315 million in stock to enhance its product line. Virata also said it expects revenue of $25 million to $27 million for its first quarter ending July 2, as shipments of communications processors have tripled in the last three months. That would be more than double its fiscal fourth-quarter revenue of $12 million and at least a ninefold increase over the $2.7 million in the year-earlier period. Shares of Santa Clara, Calif.-based Virata rose $9.25 to close at $59.25 on Nasdaq. Virata said it will pay about 6.3 million of its shares for Cupertino, Calif.-based Excess. The value of the transaction is based on Virata’s closing price Tuesday. Acquiring Excess will help Virata expand in the fast-growing market for digital subscriber lines, which provide high-speed Internet service through traditional phone lines, the company said. Excess has about 50 employees and was founded in 1998.