Brocade Lands Key Loan for Acquisition

Foundry Networks (FDRY) shares were up in after-hours trading Tuesday after Brocade (BRCD) landed a $1.2 billion loan to fund its $3 billion acquisition of the network equipment maker.

The news sent Foundry shares up $1.49, or 9.16%, to $17.75 in after-hours trading. Brocade shares also rose 7 cents, or 1.58%, to $4.50, after falling 39 cents, or 8.9%, during Tuesday's trading.

Brocade first announced its plans to buy Foundry in July, and expects to close the deal in the fourth quarter of this year. The storage vendor anticipates that the acquisition will boost earnings in its fiscal year 2009, and for the earnings contribution to accelerate in fiscal year 2010.

The $1.2 billion financing deal, which consists of a $1.1 billion term loan and a $125 million revolving credit facility, involves a number of financial institutions, including Banc of America Securities, Morgan Stanley Senior Funding, and HSBC Bank.

In addition to using the proceeds from the term loan, Brocade anticipates raising up to $400 million in additional financing as well as using cash from both companies and limited proceeds from a portion of the revolving credit facility to fund the acquisition.

The acquisition, which has cleared U.S. and foreign regulatory review, has been approved by the board of directors of each company, and is subject to vote and approval by Foundry's stockholders on Oct. 24.

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