(Telecompaper) Cisco announced an agreement to acquire Israel-based Leaba Semiconductor for USD 320 million cash, plus additional retention-based incentives. The Leaba team will report into Cisco's Core Hardware Group, led by Senior Vice President, Ravi Cherukuri. According to a blog posting by Cisco's VP for business development, Rob Salvagno, Leaba will help the company accelerate its plans for Cisco's next-generation product portfolio and bring new capabilities to the market faster. Leaba is a fabless semiconductor company backed by venture capital and still operating in 'stealth mode'. The company said it's working on "innovative solutions for significant infrastructure challenges" and "assembling one of the best teams of engineering".