HORSHAM, Pa. -- Motorola Inc.'s broadband communications systems group here today announced an agreement to buy Synchronous Inc. of San Jose to expand its infrastructure products for optical networking and telecommunications markets.

Motorola said the transaction is valued at $260 million and will be based on a stock exchange ratio that will be determined just prior to the closing of the acquisition. The purchase is expected to be competed in late 2001 or early 2002.

Motorola said the acquisition is part of its Broadband Communications Sector's strategy to help operators support a growing number of data-intensive services -- such as Intranets, e-commerce, and the so-called "triple-play" broadband services of video, voice and data.

The transaction is also aimed at providing Motorola's Transmission Network Systems (TNS) division with optical networking technology -- including Dense Wave Division Multiplexing (DWDM) 1550-nm transmitter platforms and Erbium Doped Fiber Amplifiers (EDFAs). With the acquisition, the division will gain a staff of over 70 workers in engineering, R&D, product marketing, manufacturing, and technical-sales functions, Motorola said.

"The traditional CATV cable television network is shifting toward an optical-rich network as broadband service providers seek to efficiently increase their carrying capacities to support additional programming, Internet access, VoIP, and other advanced services -- particularly in metropolitan areas where demand is outstripping availability," noted Dan Moloney, senior vice president and general manager of Motorola Broadband's IP Systems Group. "Synchronous' world-class optical technology significantly extends and complements our existing broadband TNS product line."

Twenty-year-old Synchronous will be integrated into Motorola Broadband's TNS business under the direction of Moloney.