News

12 January 2009

 

Opnext completes StrataLight acquisition

Optical module and component maker Opnext Inc of Eatontown, NJ, USA has completed its acquisition (announced on 9 July) of privately held StrataLight Communications Inc of Los Gatos, CA, which designs and manufactures 40Gb/s line-side optical subsystems and dispersion compensation modules.

Former StrataLight stockholders have received $30m in cash plus 26,545,455 shares of Opnext common stock (about 29% of its outstanding capital stock).

“The addition of StrataLight's 40G and 100G products, along with their expertise in subsystem design, positions Opnext as a leader in 40G solutions and will enhance our portfolio of 100G products in the future,” says Opnext’s president & CEO Harry Bosco. “StrataLight is a leader in providing 40G optical subsystems to optical equipment manufacturers and has invaluable experience in optimizing transmission performance for long-haul applications,” he adds.

StrataLight’s president & CEO Shri Dodani (who has been collaborating with Opnext’s chief operating officer Gilles Bouchard on integration planning efforts) has joined Opnext’s leadership team. “The combination of StrataLight and Opnext is a natural fit as we solidify our leadership position in 40G to address our customer needs for greater bandwidth,” says Dodani. “We look forward to leveraging this combination to address the 100G frontier,” he adds.

Charles J. Abbe and Phil Otto have joined Opnext’s board as directors. Abbe retired as president & chief operating officer and a director of JDS Uniphase Corp in 2001. Otto is CEO & director of Schilling Robotics Inc and was a director of StrataLight.

Also, Harry Bosco will retire as Opnext’s CEO & president from 1 April and assume the role of chairman of the board. Chief operating officer Gilles Bouchard will replace Bosco as president & CEO. Bouchard has run Opnext’s business operations since joining the firm in November 2007. “His prior experience at Hewlett Packard as executive VP of operations and managing fast-growing, successful businesses has been very beneficial as we position the company for the future,” says Bosco.

“2009 will be a year of change for Opnext, organizationally and operationally,” says Bouchard. “Optical network design complexity increases significantly as we move to higher speeds, and the marriage of optical device and module technology with subsystems expertise will help our customers optimize their future network designs for superior performance and cost,” he adds. “With much planning behind us, we look forward to a smooth and swift integration.”

Opnext will provide further information when it reports its fiscal third-quarter 2009 results in early February.

See related items:

Opnext’s revenues fall during lull after initial 40Gb/s deployments

Opnext to acquire StrataLight

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