Network test equipment maker Ixia has signed a definitive agreement to buy Catapult CommunicationsCorp. of Mountain View, Calif., for US$105 million, or $63 million netof Catapult’s cash and investments. The acquisition is expected toclose in the third quarter. Calabasas, Calif.-based Ixia said in arelease that Catapult’s 3G and 4G wireless networkingtest solutions are an “excellent complement” to its line of IPperformance test systems and service verification platforms. With thisacquisition, Ixia says it will offer solutions for testing convergedmultiplay IP services over wireless and wireline networks to telecomequipment manufacturers and global service providers. Catapult’s DCT2000 and MGTS wireless test systems can examine hundreds of protocols and variants, including LTE, IMS, WiMAX, CDMA, VoIP, GPRS and GSM.