<<<Luminent files for $207 million IPO
By Steve Gelsi, CBS.MarketWatch.com
Last Update: 1:43 PM ET Jul 26, 2000 NewsWatch
Latest headlines
NEW YORK (CBS.MW) -- Profitable fiber-optics firm Luminent on Wednesday filed to raise up to $207 million in an initial public offering.
It's the latest in a series of fiber deals seen in the new issues market, reflecting investors' hunger to tap into companies building up the Internet infrastructure. Also upcoming among IPOs in this area is TyCom Ltd. (TCM: news, msgs), a Tyco International (TYC: news, msgs) subsidiary.
Luminent Inc. (LUMN: news, msgs), a unit of MRV Communications (MRVC: news, msgs), makes fiber-optic components for communications equipment manufacturers.
MRV plans to complete its divestiture of Luminent within six to 12 months after the IPO by distributing shares of Luminent common stock to holders of MRV's common stock.
The Chatsworth, Calif.-based company tapped CS First Boston as lead underwriter for the Luminent deal.
Luminent said it specializes in the production of fiber-optic components and subsystems, such as laser, transmitters, receivers, and modulators, for use in high-capacity data transmission applications.
Customers include Cisco Systems, General Instrument, Marconi Communications and Pandacom. Cabletron Systems, Extreme Networks, Foundry Networks and others distribute Luminent's products.
Competitors include a number of some heavy-hitters in the technology arena -- Agilent Technologies, Corning, Finisar, Fujitsu, Infineon, IBM, JDS Uniphase, Lucent, Tyco and Sumitomo.
Fast-growing market
In its S-1 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Luminent points out that copper-based phone networking systems current in place are facing "capacity strains" and that fiber-optic networks are taking up the slack. The company sees a vast marketplace into which it wants to sell its products.
Ryan, Hankin & Kent, a market research and consulting firm, estimates that the market for fiber-optic components was approximately $6.6 billion in 1999 and is expected to grow to aggregate sales of more than $23 billion by 2003, Luminent said in its filing.
The company rang up $4 million in net income on revenue of $65.2 million last year. >>>
Best wishes,
Jim |
