Efficient to buy NTS for $19.4M

Efficient Networks Inc. (Nasdaq: EFNT) agreed Tuesday to buy Network TeleSystems Inc. (NTS), a provider of broadband client services software, for about $19.4 million.

Efficient, a supplier of digital subscriber line (DSL) broadband access products, also recently bought privately held NetScreen Technologies in a stock swap valued at $905 million.

Efficient shares rose 2 to 50 1/2 Tuesday following the news.

NTS makes a broadband client software platform that is employed by carriers and service providers as part of their broadband service offerings over DSL and other broadband networks.

Under terms of the deal, Efficient will issue 400,000 shares of its common stock in exchange for all of the outstanding stock and options of NTS. Based on the May 15, 2000 closing stock price for Efficient, the transaction will be worth about $19.4 million.

The transaction, which is expected to be completed within 30 days, will be accounted for as a purchase.

Efficient said NTS' software will work with its SpeedStream DSL products to simplify installation enables remote support, and give it a competitive advantage over other offerings.

The company also announced that John Davidson, founder and president of NTS, will join the senior management team of Efficient Networks.

Efficient's top competitors include 3Com (Nasdaq: COMS), Alcatel (NYSE: ALA) and Cisco Systems (Nasdaq: CSCO) according to Hoover's Online.