Lumentum divests lithium niobate-based product lines in Italy to China’s AFR

China-based Advanced Fiber Resources (Zhuhai) Ltd (AFR), a provider of passive optical components (mainly for industrial laser, telecom, data center, fiber sensing, biomedical and academic research fields), has agreed to acquire the assets associated with certain lithium niobate (LiNbO3)-based optical component product lines developed and manufactured in San Donato, Italy by Lumentum Holdings Inc of Milpitas, CA, USA, which makes photonics products for optical networking and lasers for industrial and consumer markets.

“Lumentum’s telecom transmission product strategy is now focused on indium phosphide (InP) photonic integrated circuit (PIC)-based components and modules, and we planned to ramp down lithium niobate operations in San Donato,” notes Beck Mason, Lumentum’s senior VP & general m anager, Telecom Transmission.

“AFR is excited to expand its market opportunities and capabilities to include lithium niobate-based products for the communications and sensing markets,” says AFR’s chairman & CEO X.L. Wang. “With our strengths in cost-effective high-volume manufacturing, we are well positioned to address customer needs for lithium niobate products in our addressable markets,” he believes. Incorporated in 2000, AFR has more than 1000 staff and manufactures products (including high-power and polarization maintaining components) in its 360,000ft2 facilities in Zhuhai and Shenzhen.

Subject to certain customary closing conditions, the transaction is expected to close early in Lumentum’s fiscal third-quarter 2020. The product lines in the proposed transaction are part of the discontinued Telecom and Datacom product lines that Lumentum previously discussed on its fiscal first-quarter 2020 earnings call on 31 October.

Tags: Optical communications

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