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Technology Stocks : JDS Uniphase (JDSU) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: pat mudge who wrote (2018)	11/14/1999 9:55:00 PM
From: Glenn McDougall	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 24042

FOCUS - Corning to buy Oak for $1.8 bln in stock (Adds analyst comment, paragraphs 6-8, edits throughout) By Laney Salisbury NEW YORK, Nov 14 (Reuters) - Corning Inc., (NYSE: GLW) a leading producer of fiber-optic cable, said on Sunday it will pay $1.8 billion in stock for Oak Industries Inc., (NYSE: OAK) which makes fiber-optic equipment, in the latest move to consolidate the ultra-high speed communications equipment market. In a statement, Corning said the boards of both companies have already approved the deal in which Corning agreed to exchange 0.83 share of its common stock for each share of Waltham, Mass.-based Oak Industries. The deal will allow the Corning, N.Y.-based company to provide both the optical fibers and the equipment that connect such cables to computers and other communications equipment. Fiber optics are glass cables that can transport voice and data far faster than conventional copper wire or copper cables can. They are in heavy demand in the emerging market for high-speed Internet communications to both businesses and homes. Based on Friday's closing prices, the deal represents a 51 percent premium over the $49.75 for Oak Industries shares, Corning said. Jeff Kagan, an Atlanta-based telecom industry consultant, said given the demand for bandwidth Corning is likely to continue to expand its offerings and begin to compete with such giants as Lucent Technologies Inc. (NYSE: LU) "This deal allows Corning to have a bigger bag of services to reach into and sell to their customers but at the same time it puts them in the crosshairs of Lucent," Kagan said. "I imagine this is just one deal of many in Corning's new journey toward expanding what it offers in the marketplace," he added. Corning spokesman Paul Rogoski said he could not comment if there were other deals afoot. Rogoski said that in the deal announced Sunday there will be no job cuts because Corning plans to continue operating all the businesses of Oak Industries. Of particular attraction to Corning is Oak Industries' Lasertron Inc. unit, which makes lasers that transmit or amplify the optical signal as it goes over the network. The products of Oak Industries' Gilbert Engineering Co. subsidiary, a manufacturer of coaxial connectors for broadband communications networks, will also complement Corning's existing capabilities in optical connectors, optical cable, hardware and related equipment, Rogoski said. The deal comes a week after JDS Uniphase Corp., (NASDAQ: JDSU) (TSE: JDU) itself the product of a June merger, agreed to acquire Optical Coating Laboratory Inc., (NASDAQ: OCLI) another maker of fiber-optic connector equipment, in a $2.8 billion deal. "You need to have a broader range of capability if you're going to compete in the industry today," said Rogoski. Rogoski added that Corning management will stay in place. Corning said the transaction, which is expected to close in the first quarter of 2000, will be accounted for as a pooling of interests. It is expected to be accretive to Corning's earnings per share beginning in 2000.