Brocade announced today it plans to buy Ruckus Wireless in a cash and stock transaction valued at about $1.2 billion, net of Ruckus's cash.

After this morning’s announcement, Brocade’s stock was down about 14 percent, while Ruckus’s stock rose 31 percent.

According to Brocade, the acquisition of the WiFi company will complement its enterprise networking portfolio, and it will also strengthen its presence in the broader service provider space. The companies also hope to benefit from selling into each other's customer bases.

The acquisition will expand Brocade’s networking business from storage area networking (SAN), routers, and data center switches into wireless technologies.

At Mobile World Congress in February, Brocade announced its intention to become involved with 5G, using its software-defined networking (SDN) controller and its virtual evolved packet core (vEPC).

Brocade also mentioned 5G in today’s announcement, saying, “The acquisition will strengthen Brocade's ability to pursue emerging market opportunities around 5G mobile services, Internet of Things (IoT), smart cities, and LTE/WiFi convergence."

After the purchase, Ruckus Wireless CEO Selina Lo will continue to lead the Ruckus group and report directly to Brocade CEO Lloyd Carney.

The companies expect the transaction, which has been approved by both boards of directors, to close in Brocade's third quarter, which ends in July.