To: Tecinvestor who wrote (7984 ) 3/23/2000 3:08:00 PM From: CodeMogul Read Replies (1) | Respond to
Culpability is an interesting question.Washington, March 21 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. antitrust enforcers are questioning whether JDS Uniphase Corp.'s proposed $19.7 billion acquisition of E-Tek Dynamics Inc. would hurt competition in the expanding market for fiber-optic components, say a customer and people familiar with the government's review. Our customers include many of the leading telecommunications equipment manufacturers, including Alcatel, CIENA, Corning, Fujitsu, Lucent, Nortel and Pirelli. Muller said customer interviews are 'a very standard part' of an antitrust review, noting that the company was required to provide names and phone numbers of customers in its merger filing. Alcatel, E-Tek's No. 1 customer, wants the acquisition delayed until it can find another source of components, said Alcatel USA Vice President of Product Strategy Paul Harrison. That process that could take as long as a year, he said. Harrison said he hasn't been contacted by Justice Department investigators and didn't know if other Alcatel officials had been interviewed by phone or in person. JDS Uniphase has tried to address Alcatel's worries by telling the company that it will be a valued customer after the E- Tek acquisition. Harrison said he received assurances from JDS Uniphase President Jozef Straus, who also visited Alcatel Chief Executive Serge Tchuruk.
