II-VI to Acquire Finisar for $3.2 billion.
The materials and optoelectronics firm II-VI and the optical communications company Finisar have entered into a merger agreement under which II-VI will acquire Finisar in a cash and stock transaction with an equity value of approximately $3.2 billion. I-VI and Finisar will employ over 24,000 associates in 70 locations worldwide upon closing the transaction.
The combination of II-VI and Finisar brings together their extensive capabilities in photonics and compound semiconductors to serve a number of fast growing markets including communications, consumer electronics, military, industrial processing lasers, automotive semiconductor equipment and life sciences.
The joint portfolio includes GaAs, InP, SiC, GaN and diamond technologies together with optoelectronic, optical and integrated circuit device design expertise and related intellectual property. This has the potential to unlock access to larger markets in RF devices for next-generation wireless and military applications, as well as power electronics for electric cars and green energy.
The combined company also has a full line and scalable supply of high performance datacom transceivers, products based on coherent transmission technology and ROADM solutions. It will market products into next-generation undersea, long-haul and metro networks, hyperscale datacentres and in 5G optical infrastructure.
Their is also huge potential in 3D sensing and LiDAR based on their optoelectronics expertise in GaAs and InP compound semiconductor laser design platforms, together with one of the world's largest 6-inch vertically integrated epitaxial growth and device fabrication manufacturing platforms.
"Disruptive megatrends driven by innovative uses of lasers and other engineered materials present huge growth opportunities for both of our companies," said Vincent D. Mattera, Jr., president and CEO, II-VI Incorporated. "In communications, materials processing, consumer electronics and automotive, we expect that the combination with Finisar will allow us to leverage our combined technology and intellectual property in InP, GaAs, SiC, GaN, SiP and diamond to achieve faster time to market, cost and scale. Together, we believe that we will be better strategically positioned to play a strong leadership role in the emerging markets of 5G, 3D sensing, cloud computing, electric and autonomous vehicles, and advanced microelectronics manufacturing."
Mattera continued: "We have long admired Finisar and have a great deal of regard for its founders and its talented global team. Our companies both have a long history of focusing on innovation, breakthrough solutions and competitive follow-through by manufacturing high quality products for our customers, and we look forward to welcoming Finisar to the II-VI family and further strengthening our competitive position in the industry."
"The combination of our state-of-the-art technology platforms, deep customer relationships, great assets and amazing talent will enhance our ability to hit market windows that won't stay open for long," said Michael Hurlston, Finisar's CEO. "This combination will accelerate our collective growth and will take advantage of the technology, products and manufacturing expertise that Finisar has uniquely developed over the course of its 30 year history."
Hurlston added, "We are extremely excited to combine Finisar with II-VI and together create a leader in photonics and compound semiconductors across all of the markets we serve. We are confident that the growth potential for the combined company is substantial, and we believe that our respective shareholders will be able to enjoy significant potential for value creation when the transaction is completed."
