Broadcom to Acquire Allayer

Irvine communications chip maker Broadcom Corp. said it would acquire Allayer Communications, a privately held San Jose developer of optical networking communications chips, for $275.8 million in stock. The purchase is Broadcom’s 10th this year and is aimed at broadening its product line of chips for high-speed broadband communications across all kinds of networks. Broadcom said it will be able to combine Allayer’s switching technology with its own products to speed the flow of information from so-called wide-area networks to smaller local-area networks, which link together computers within an office or campus. Broadcom said it will trade about 1.23 million shares of its Class A Common Stock in exchange for all outstanding shares of Allayer. Broadcom shares rose $1.88 to close at $224.25 on Nasdaq.