Cisco to keep up pace of acquisitions in 2010

SAN FRANCISCO: Cisco Systems Inc plans to keep up the pace of acquisitions in 2010 and looks at 100 companies for every purchase it decides to make, said Charles Carmel, vice-president of corporate development.

Cisco, which has acquired more than 130 companies in its 25-year history, has about 50 people exploring potential takeover candidates, said Carmel.

"We usually look at about 100 companies for every 10 we get into any serious level of conversation, which turns into one deal at the end of that funnel," Carmel said after a panel discussion at Bloomberg's San Francisco bureau. "It's a 1 percent flow-through, so obviously we have a lot of activity."