CHICAGO, July 28, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — Global investment banking firm Advanced Equities announced today that one of its portfolio companies, Force10 Networks, an industry leader in high-performance datacenter networking, has signed an agreement to be acquired by Dell.

Operating in more than 60 countries worldwide, Force10 has emerged as a global force in datacenter, service provider, and enterprise networking. The acquisition is expected to complement Dell’s range of offerings as the leading x86 server provider in the United States and No. 2 worldwide.

“Advanced Equities has played a critical role in our success, from financing to M&A advice and assistance. They have always been there to support us, bringing to bear the full power of their experienced team,” said Henry Wasik, chief executive officer, Force10 Networks.

Force10 was created in April 2009 via a merger between two Advanced Equities portfolio companies, Turin Networks and Force10 Networks, both founded in 1999.

About Advanced Equities

Advanced Equities is a global investment banking firm specializing in private equity, capital markets and wealth management services. With offices in Chicago, New York and San Francisco, our team covers a broad range of clients, including high-net worth individuals, family offices, institutions and corporations, by providing comprehensive capital raising, strategic advice and wealth management expertise. Our in-depth, industry-specific expertise and regional market acumen enable our industry coverage teams to serve the evolving needs of clients around the world.

About Force10 Networks

Force10 Networks develops high-performance datacenter solutions powered by the industry’s most innovative line of open, standards-based, networking hardware and software. The company’s Open Cloud Networking framework grants Web 2.0/portal operators, cloud and hosting providers, enterprise and special-purpose datacenter customers new levels of flexibility, performance, scale and automation—fundamentally changing the economics of datacenter networking. Force10 Networks operates globally, providing 24×7 service and support to its customer base in more than 60 countries worldwide.

SOURCE Advanced Equities, Inc.