Keep 'em coming, folks: Huawei snaps up Amartus SDN division

Chinese kit maker Huawei has snapped up the software-defined networking division of Irish software outfit Amartus.

Zha Jun, president of Huawei’s fixed network products unit, said the deal is part of the company's strategy is to expand its cloud and network services.

Amartus’ senior team and product staff will join Huawei, and the company will continue to provide the same service to current customers.

“We are excited to be able to bring this innovative technology to Huawei," said Michael Kearns, chief exec of Amartus, "at a time when the telecom’s industry is experiencing unprecedented change, driven by software."

The deal is just one in a handful of acquisitions made by Huawei in Europe. In 2012 the company scooped up the assets of the UK-based Centre for Integrated Photonics, a photonics research laboratory, from the East of England Development Agency.

Last year it bought thirty-person Cambridge-based Neul for a reported $25m (£16m) to turn the UK into a centre of excellence for the Internet of Things.

A report last month claimed Huawei has so far spent nearly £1bn on procurement and investment since it promised to expand its presence in Blighty back in 2013. ®