CISCO BUYS NDS FOR $5B

NDS, founded in 1988 by scientists from the Weizmann Institute, and which operates a large R&D center in Jerusalem, is being bought by information technology giant Cisco for $5b.  NDS, with world headquarters in Stains, UK, specializes in the development of interactive systems for secure delivery of entertainment and information to digital TVs, digital set-top boxes, PCs and mobile devices.  The company’s flagship product is its encryption and conditional access system, VideoGuard, which is installed on home TVs via smartcards integrated into set-top boxes.