Xircom Acquires USB Competitor

Xircom, based here, entered a definitive agreement to acquire Entrega Technologies Inc., Lake Forest, Calif. Xircom will exchange 323,905 shares of its common stock for Entrega's outstanding shares, options and debt, making the deal worth about $23.1 million.

Both companies supply USB solutions, but there is little overlap between product lines, said Bob Vincent, vice president of American sales and marketing at Xircom. "Xircom's strength is selling to the enterprise, so we focus on resellers who cater to large businesses. With Entrega, we will look at resellers more focused on the small-business and Mac community," he said.

Xircom also paid $13.25 million to acquire selected assets related to the Rex product line from Franklin Electronic Publishers Inc., including intellectual property, inventory and fixed assets.

The Rex Pro 5 and Rex-3 are organizers with LCD screens built onto a PC Card. They can be used as stand-alone pocket organizers or can be synchronized with data in a mobile PC.

The Rex line primarily is aimed at the retail market, said Vincent. "Xircom's plan is to add corporate functionality and take them to the reseller community," he said.

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