Exfo, Burleigh Waves Meet

OTTAWA -- Hungry for high-end wavelength measurement and positioning tools, Exfo Electro-Optical Engineering Inc. has gobbled up Burleigh Instruments Inc. for US $275 million in cash and stock.
"We announced previously that we were looking to find companies that show technology excellence, and that's clearly the case here with Burleigh," said Exfo CEO Germain Lamonde.
Burleigh, based in Fishers, N.Y., provides ultraprecise wavelength measurement and positioning devices for the laboratory and for high-end manufacturing/quality control; Exfo has traditionally focused on more workaday fiber optic test instruments for field and manufacturing environments. With little or no product duplication, the acquisition gives Exfo an entrée into some high-end applications that its previous products did not serve.
Lamonde estimated that the companies share 60 percent of their customer base, but said that applications were very different and that the unique customers offer excellent growth opportunities for the combined company. In particular, Exfo's global sales channels will expose Burleigh products to a wider, more international marketplace.