Cisco plans to acquire cloud-native mobile core developer Working Group Two (WG2) for $150 million.

In a lengthy statement, the tech giant noted that the acquisition will enable it to bolster its mobility services platform to help operators launch new offers across IoT and industry verticals.

WG2 is currently run as a joint venture between Cisco and Norwegian telco Telenor after it was spun out by the carrier back in 2017.

Once the transaction is complete, WG2 will be fully owned by Cisco, with the new owner acquiring Telenor’s 44.6 percent stake in the entity.

Working Group Two is focused on offering a cloud-based core network platform to mobile operators.

"WG2 and Cisco have a unique synergy. We share a common ambition to deliver a global, programmable mobile core as a service, and are remarkably aligned to this shared vision. The goal? To enable our Communication Service Provider customers to cover ground faster, as we work together to monetize their 5G investments," said Masum Mir, SVP and GM of provider mobility at Cisco Networking.

"The consumption model is simple and comprehensive, supporting all stakeholders. The end result is a mobility services platform that can dramatically simplify mobile network deployments, provide enhanced Edge experiences, enable new and advanced use cases, as well as support simple application development. WG2’s expertise in the mobile space brings capabilities crucial to the enterprise market including complete authentication, provisioning, voice, messaging, and data services, all of which will be rolled into our existing control center offers."

Telenor stated separately that, since spinning off WG2, it's grown the company from five employees to 90, and has a global customer base in Europe, North America, and Asia.

WG2 will join Cisco's Provider Mobility organization, confirmed Mir, who noted that the acquisition is expected to close during the first quarter of Cisco’s FY24.