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Agilent acquires Optical Technology Center from Telecom Italia

Agilent Technologies has signed an agreement to acquire the Optical Technology Center (OTC) from Telecom Italia's central research laboratory, CSELT.
With this move, Agilent will acquire 50 OTC research employees and modern facilities in Turin, Italy, including advanced laboratory equipment and the research center s patent portfolio.

The acquisition is expected to be completed within a month, subject to the closing conditions and approval from the Italian Antitrust Authority. Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. OTC s advanced technology and research facilities are expected to accelerate Agilent s delivery of 10 gigabits per second (Gb/s) and dense wavelength division multiplexer (DWDM) technologies to the telecom and datacom markets. Agilent is the world s largest manufacturer of optoelectronics and fiber-optic modules for the networking industry. The acquisition strengthens Agilent s ability to provide leading-edge component technology to the networking industry.

"This acquisition is an excellent example of how Agilent identifies key opportunities that strategically fit our business portfolio and how we quickly maximize their potential," said Bill Sullivan, senior vice president and general manager of Agilent s Semiconductor Products Group.

Agilent plans to keep the research center in its current modern facilities in Turin, Italy, which it will lease from CSELT. The 40,000 square-foot facility contains a clean room for epitaxy and processing, as well as characterization and packaging laboratories. "We plan to make today s more exotic technologies such as 10Gb/s and DWDM as common as fast Ethernet by marrying this leading-edge research with our high-volume manufacturing capability," said David Parker, general manager of the Ipswich Components Operation (ICO). OTC will become part of Agilent s Fiber Optics Communications Division and will be closely linked to ICO s single-mode, fiber-optic component facility in Ipswich, England.

"One of the most challenging aspects of our business is to obtain the resources needed to deliver the next level of network capacity," said Paul Engle, general manager for Agilent s Fiber Optics Communications Division. "We are thrilled to gain 50 of the most talented researchers who will add more than 600 years of combined experience in optical technology to our program."

The OTC has a history of world-class research and participation in collaborative research programs in the field of fiber-optic technology. Agilent also intends to establish a collaboration agreement with CSELT and Telecom Italia. "Telecom Italia s current effort to focus on core business activities presents an opportunity for us to exploit the potential represented by the people, the knowledge and the state-of-the-art facilities we have in our Group," said Umberto de Julio, senior vice president of Strategies and Innovation for Telecom Italia. "For this reason, the selling of the OTC lab is a success story, considering that it enables us to establish important cooperation for the future." "The agreement acknowledges the high level of competence reached by the OTC research group over the years," said Cesare Mossotto, general manager of CSELT. "Moving this knowledge from a research lab to a commercial environment is the best way to apply it successfully all around the world."

CSELT was advised by Deutsche Bank in this transaction.

About CSELT

CSELT (Centro Studi e Laboratori Telecominicazioni S.p.A.), founded in 1964, is the Telecom Italia Group s company for the study, research, experimentation and qualification for telecommunications and information technology. About 1,200 researchers operate to define advanced system scenarios, to develop and experiment with innovative solutions and services, and to create a linkage between academics and applied research with a strong presence in international research forums and programs. CSELT helps Telecom Italia Group s companies to develop business solutions for the Internet, data networks, mobile networks, CTI, multimedia, and other areas of business.

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