Ascend Communications, Inc. was an Alameda, California-based manufacturer of communications equipment that was later purchased by Lucent Technologies in 1999.
Ascend Communications was founded in 1988 and taken public in 1994. Initial investors included Kleiner, Perkins, Caulfield and Byers (KPCB); Greylock Partners; and New Enterprise Associates (NEA).
In August 1998, Ascend bought Stratus Computers for $822 million in stock. Stratus was primarily a maker of fault-tolerant computer systems but it owned a Service Control Point technology critical to the convergence of voice and data networks that Ascend valued. The server business was sold off to private equity investors within months, following the Lucent deal. It now operates as Stratus Technologies.
The company was acquired by Lucent Technologies in 1999. The $24 billion merger was the largest technology merger in history up to that time. Former executives of Ascend founded the company Zhone Technologies.
Ascend's stock traded under the Nasdaq symbol ASND.
See also
- Livingston Enterprises