IBM's Laser Enterprise is the market leader in 980 nm lasers for pumping optical fiber modules. SDL is number two.
Monday March 10 6:22 PM EDT
Uniphase Corporation to acquire "IBM Laser Enterprise" assets from IBM
research
"IBM Laser Enterprise" is leading manufacturer of lasers for
telecommunications
SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 10, 1997-- Uniphase Corp today announced that it has
signed a definitive agreement with IBM Corporation to acquire the assets of the "IBM Laser Enterprise,"
formerly part of IBM's Zurich Research Laboratory in Switzerland.
With the consummation of the acquisition, the business will operate as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Uniphase,
Uniphase Laser Enterprise AG, based in Zurich, Switzerland and continue to market its lasers to leading
telecommunications companies worldwide as well as supplying lasers to the Uniphase Telecommunications
Products subsidiary (UTP).
Uniphase's Laser Enterprise employs approximately 50 people including 14 Ph.Ds.
The transaction will be an asset purchase, valued at $45 million in cash. Uniphase will take a charge in the
current quarter ending March 31, 1997 for acquired in-process R&D in connection with the acquisition. With
this one time charge, the Company expects to record a net loss for the quarter ending March 31, 1997.
IBM has been developing semiconductor lasers for use for telecommunications at its Zurich Research
Laboratory since 1987 and a leading supplier of 980nm lasers used in erbium doped fiber amplifiers (EDFA) and
supplied to many major telecommunication equipment manufacturers.
The telecommunications lasers to be produced now by Uniphase's Laser Enterprise have an impressive
reliability record, and have demonstrated field lifetimes in excess of 50 million device hours and mean time to
failure of 1,000,000 hours.
These demonstrated lifetimes and patented technologies for reliability cause this IBM technology to currently be
amongst the leading laser technologies for telecommunications worldwide.
The semiconductor lasers are made using molecular beam epitaxy (MBE), which allows growth of the complex
chemical composition of the expitaxial layers to be controlled to nearly atomic precision.
"The acquisition of this leading telecommunications laser business, with its industry recognized team of
scientists and manufacturing engineers allows Uniphase to continue to strengthen its position as a leading
supplier of technology and products to the telecommunications marketplace. The acquisition not only provides
current product revenue and accretive earnings, but also many of the products currently in qualification
represent substantial opportunities for the future," said Kevin Kalkhoven, Chairman and CEO of Uniphase.
There will be a conference call scheduled at 9:00 a.m. PST on Tuesday, March 11. If you wish to participate in
this conference call, please dial in to 415/904-7331 at approximately 8:55 a.m. PST.
Uniphase Corporation is an optoelectronics company that designs, develops, manufactures and markets laser
subsystems, laser-based semiconductor wafer defect examination and analysis equipment and fiber optic
telecommunications equipment products.
The Company's laser division designs, develops, manufactures and markets laser subsystems for a broad range of
OEM applications which include biotechnology, industrial process control and measurement, graphics and
printing, and semiconductor equipment.
The Company's Ultrapointe subsidiary designs and markets advanced laser-based systems for semiconductor
wafer defect examination and analysis. The Company's UTP subsidiary designs, develops, manufactures and
markets high-speed external modulators and transmitters for fiber optic networks in the cable television and
long-haul telecommunications industries.
Uniphase employs approximately 500 people worldwide and has its headquarters in San Jose, Calif. Its stock is
traded on the Nasdaq National Market under the symbol UNPH. Uniphase's website address is
www.uniphase.com .
The statements contained in this release which are not purely historical are forward looking statements,
including statements regarding the Company's expectations, hopes or intentions regarding the future. Forward
looking statements in this release include statements regarding the ability of the Company to manufacture and
supply its products and the performance of those products.
All forward looking statements included in this release are made as of the date hereof, based on information
available to the Company as of the date hereof, and Uniphase assumes no obligation to update any forward
looking statement. It is important to note that actual outcomes and the Company's actual results could differ
materially from those in such forward looking statements.
Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include risks and uncertainties such as technological
changes, market developments, the market's continued acceptance of Uniphase's products and the Company's
ability to successfully maintain products and maintain a technical advantage over its competitors. Readers are
encouraged to refer to the risk disclosures outlined in the Company's reports on Forms 10-K, 10-Q and 8K, as
applicable.
CONTACT: Uniphase Corporation
Kevin N. Kalkhoven/Dan E. Pettit, 408/434-1800 |
