Cisco to buy cloud-networking start-up Meraki for $1.2 billion

US-CISCO-MERAKI:Cisco to buy cloud-networking start-up Meraki for $1.2 billion

(Reuters) - Networking equipment company Cisco Systems Inc said it will buy privately held cloud networking company Meraki for $1.2 billion in cash as part of its cloud and networking strategy.

Cisco said the acquisition of Meraki, which was founded by members of MIT's Laboratory for Computer Science, is expected to close in the second quarter of Cisco's 2013 fiscal year and is subject to regulatory approval.

(Reporting by Nicola Leske)

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