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To: Kenya AA who wrote (5004)11/14/1999 10:57:00 PM
From: Mao II  Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 12663
 
K & Other F.O. fanz: newz! M2
dailynews.yahoo.com
Sunday November 14 4:35 PM ET

Corning to Buy Oak for $1.8 Bln in Stock

By Laney Salisbury

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Corning Inc (NYSE:GLW - news)., a leading producer of
fiber-optic cable, said on Sunday it will pay $1.8 billion in stock for Oak Industries Inc
(NYSE:OAK - news)., 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 - news).

``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 - news)., itself the
product of a June merger, agreed to acquire Optical Coating Laboratory Inc
(Nasdaq:OCLI - news)., 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.

Earlier Stories

Corning to Buy Oak for $1.8B in Stock (November 14)
Corning to Buy Oak for $1.8B (November 14)
Corning to Buy Oak for $1.8 Billion in Stock (November 14)

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