Cisco Systems announced Wednesday its intention to purchase Airespace, Silicon Valley telecom start-up, in a stock deal worth $450 million.

The acquisition will allow Cisco to expand in the Wi-Fi market for high-end products geared for the deployment and management of upscale wireless networks. Cisco expects to win a broader segment of the market for wireless equipment that sees the development of increasingly complex systems with multiple access points and different levels of security. Airespace manufacturers WLAN controllers, Access Points, software and security.

"We believe that (the deal) enhances and extends our products," said Ned Hooper, Cisco’s vice president of corporate business development. He said that the company projects the wireless network equipment to continue "growing at a phenomenal pace."

The deal is expected to close in the third fiscal quarter of 2005 for Cisco Systems. In 2004 Cisco bought 12 companies, compared to its peak activity of 2000 when it acquired 20 firms.