Coherent Again Deems a II-VI Proposal Superior to Terms of a Lumentum Merger Agreement

Coherent confirmed it has received a buyout offer from II-VI that the Coherent board deems “superior” to terms of an amended merger agreement between it and Lumentum. The company today said its board determined that the revised acquisition proposal from II-VI, which builds on a previous revised proposal from II-VI, constituted a “Company Superior Proposal.”

Per terms of the latest proposal from II-VI, each share of Coherent common stock would be exchanged for $195 and one share of II-VI common stock at the completion of the transaction. Coherent said it once again has informed Lumentum it intends to terminate their amended merger agreement unless it receives a revised proposal from Lumentum by Wednesday, March 17.

Coherent, on March 8, following its receipt of the first II-VI revised proposal, said it was giving Lumentum until Thursday, March 11, to submit an amended merger agreement. Coherent then signed a revised merger agreement with Lumentum, which the companies announced on Wednesday, March 10.

Lumentum, in a company release, has acknowledged Coherent’s intention. Coherent remains subject to a termination fee of more than $200 million if it walks away from the Lumentum agreement.

The latest II-VI proposal, the company said, implies a total enterprise value of $6.8 billion.

To date, including revised proposals and merger agreements, Coherent has confirmed it has received a total of nine offers from three companies.

Click here for details of the earlier II-VI revised proposal. Click here for details of the earlier revised merger agreement between Lumentum and Coherent. Real-time coverage of this acquisition is available on Photonics.com.