Network Appliance buys start-up Topio for $160m

Network Appliance, Inc. (NASDAQ100: NTAP) today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Israeli start-up Topio, for approximately $160 million in an all-cash transaction. This is NetApps' first acquisition in Israel.

Since inception, Topio has raised $20 million from investors including Sequoia Capital, Star Ventures and Sigma Partners.

The acquisition is expected to close in December 2006, subject to customary closing conditions. Topio will be a new business unit within NetApp, and its research and development team will continue to operate in Haifa, Israel. Topio is committed to maintaining and furthering its deep relationships with global enterprise customers. Topio was in the past a NetApp strategic partner. The company was founded in 2001 by CEO Yoram Novick and has so far succeeded in selling its products to 50 medium and large customers.

Topio provides enterprise-class software for data replication and rapid recovery.

Network Appliance provides storage solutions for data rich organizations. The company provides thousands of worldwide network linked servers for data storage and management solutions. The company's solutions enable data center operation and uninterrupted data access.

Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes.co.il - on November 8, 2006