Dayna buy puts Intel in new market

Computer chip giant Intel Corp. last week said it will acquire networking vendor Dayna Communications Inc. of Salt Lake City.

Santa Clara, Calif.-based Intel said the purchase is subject to shareholder approval and is expected to become final by the end of November. The company declined to provide financial details of the deal.

While Intel already makes networking components and products for mid-size businesses, the company said it aims to establish a beachhead in the small-business market. "We need to get into this market rapidly," said Jim A. Johnson, Intel's business unit manager for network products. "Dayna already has [small-business] products and understands what those people need."

According to analysts, Intel will not acquire much unique technology in the deal. Instead, the company will gain Dayna's experience in creating networking products that are easy to configure and support.

Johnson said Intel would continue to support Dayna products and extend existing product lines "where it makes business sense" and will offer Intel-branded products in 1998. He said both Intel and Dayna will continue to offer products for the Mac market.

Dayna will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Intel as part of its Network Products Division. It will operate out of Dayna's headquarters.