Airvana has agreed to be taken private by a new private equity firm called 72 Mobile Holdings, which includes hedge-fund operator S.A.C. Capital and the Blackstone Group. Airvana, which provides IP-based wireless network infrastructure products to carriers, was a FierceWireless Fierce 15 award winner in 2004. In July 2007, the company launched an initial public offering of 8.3 million shares priced at $7 per share for a total of $58.1 million. The deal is expected to close in first quarter of 2010. Merle Gilmore, the former president of Motorola's communications enterprise unit, will serve as chairman of the new company.  Article