Belden, a St. Louis, Missouri-based manufacturer that sells a number of products into the data center space, entered into acquisition agreements with two companies in November. The firm is planning to buy GarrettCom and Thomas and Betts' Communications Products business.

The former company provides industrial-grade networking solutions, including switches, routers, converters, serial communications and security software. Belden did not disclose terms of the deal, which it expects to complement its existing industrial networking products.

Belden has agreed to buy the communications products business from Thomas and Betts for $78m in cash, according to a news release. The acquisition will add a number of products to the buyer's portfolio, including drop connectors, hard-line connectors, grounding products and telecom enclosures.

Belden's existing products for data centers include cabling, airflow-management, PDU, enclosure, rack and monitoring solutions.

Belden president and CEO John Stroup said the business it was buying from Thomas and Betts had an experienced management team, recognized brands and a reputation for product quality.

"We intend to invest in the business to leverage these proven strengths and expand our combined presence in core markets within North America, as well as other geographies where we already have commercial infrastructure in place," Stroup said in a statement.