NeoPhotonics Acquires Photon Stake

SAN JOSE, Calif. & SHENZHEN, China, March 2 -- NeoPhotonics Corp., a San Jose-based supplier of planar lightwave circuit (PLC) modules for optical networking applications, announced today it has acquired all of the formerly state-owned shares, or approximately one-third of all outstanding shares, of Photon Technologies, China's largest supplier of active optical components, for a combination of cash and stock. Terms were not disclosed.

Tim Jenks, CEO of NeoPhotonics, said, "This deal is unique in that it's one of the first cases of a US company acquiring a major position in a large Chinese state-owned enterprise in the high-tech sector."

NeoPhotonics said the combination of the two companies "creates the broadest and deepest optical component capability in the industry today, with advanced solutions that combine active and passive components into products and modules. Specifically, the two companies combine the best next-generation passive PLC technology with world-class, high-volume laser and transceiver manufacturing capability."

It said product collaborations are underway, including the integration of active lasers with passive filtering and alignment on a PLC substrate for low-cost triplexers for FTTP (fiber-to-the-premises), transceiver modules and integrated ROADMs (reconfigurable optical add/drop multiplexers), and that the companies are "forging the future of optical components" by integrating multiple functions on a single chip to provide module and subsystem solutions, or optical "systems on a chip" (SoC).

The companies will support each other's sales and customer support activities while combining sales channels in many regions.

Representatives of both companies will attend OFC/NFOEC 2005, to be held March 8-10 at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, Calif., at booth 1657.

For more information, visit: www.neophotonics.com