News

25 July 2008

 

Pirelli to take 30% stake in CyOptics

The Pirelli Group of Milan, Italy has agreed a strategic alliance in integrated photonics that foresees a merger between its photonics company PGT Photonics and privately held CyOptics Inc of Lehigh Valley, PA, USA.

The merged business will bring together an unparalleled set of technologies addressing the future telecom network needs, the firms claim, combining the complementary technologies of CyOptics’ expertise in manufacturing indium phosphide-based lasers and detectors with PGT Photonics’ broad expertise in silicon-based photonics.

PGT Photonics was formed in February by integrating the photonics part of the Pirelli Broadband Solutions business with the photonics-related R&D activities of the optical innovation division at Pirelli Labs.

Founded in 1999, CyOptics designs and fabricates InP-based optical chips and components at its facility in Lehigh Valley, PA, and also has a silicon photonic lightwave circuit (PLC) fab in South Plainfield, NJ, as well as a planar automated assembly & test operation in Matamoros, Mexico. CyOptics therefore has capabilities in both hybrid integration (using different elements in a single package) and monolithic integration (on a single chip). 

Together, the two firms aim to address products such as wavelength-tunable transmit optical sub-assemblies (TOSAs), photonic integrated circuits (PICs), and other components aimed at improving flexibility and reducing the cost of optoelectronic communications.

As part of the agreement, Pirelli will participate in a CyOptics capital increase with a cash contribution of $20m. Following the transaction, Pirelli will maintain a 30% share in the new business, which will have annual revenue of about $80m.

“This investment is coherent with Pirelli’s strategy to grow in photonics through integration with other companies in similar businesses,” says Pirelli’s chairman Marco Tronchetti Provera. “We strongly believe in the potential of this transaction, which allows for joining two advanced and complementary technologies and creating a leading-edge company in the optical sector,” he adds.

See related items:

Pirelli unveils spin-off PGT Photonics

Search: Pirelli CyOptics InP TOSAs PICs

Visit: www.cyoptics.com

Visit: www.pirelli.com