JDSU Buys Westover Fiber Div.
MILPITAS, Calif., Jan. 7, 2008 -- JDSU announced today it acquired the fiber division of Westover Scientific Inc., a Seattle, Wash., provider of fiber optic inspection and cleaning solutions, for $50 million in cash, subject to regulatory approvals. It said it also intends to acquire Westover Scientific's affiliated manufacturing company in Fuzhou, China, in the second half of the 2008 fiscal year.
JDSU said Westover Scientific's products complement its existing fiber field and lab and production test portfolio and will be integrated with JDSU's Communications Test and Measurement (CommTest) business, a provider of fiber-optic test products for service providers, labs and manufacturers.
Westover Scientific's fiber test business includes approximately 80 employees with calendar 2007 revenues of more than $15 million, representing growth of approximately 30 percent compared with calendar 2006, JDSU said. It expects the transaction to be accretive on a non-GAAP EPS basis for fiscal 2008.
Westover Scientific makes field and lab microscopes used to detect dirt and other contaminants that are considered the primary cause of faults in fiber optic networks, JDSU said in a statement. "Fiber inspection and cleaning are critical components in a comprehensive fiber deployment and operation strategy. Westover Scientific provides a full suite of optical inspection and cleaning solutions that address the needs of fiber component and system manufacturers, communication service providers, and various other vertical markets such as premise networks, military and aerospace."
Bill Mortimer, vice president and general manager of JDSU's Lab, Production and Fiber Optic test businesses, said, "The investment in FTTx (fiber-to-the-x) initiatives and the importance of service quality in today's competitive environment mean telecommunications and cable service providers need dependable fiber-optic test solutions that allow them to proactively prevent fiber contamination that may cause network faults before they affect end users. With the addition of Westover Scientific's product portfolio, JDSU has an unmatched set of fiber test solutions to support the cost-effective deployment and management of fiber networks."
JDSU currently integrates Westover Scientific products in many of its advanced test platforms, including fiber characterization solutions in its MTS/T-BERD 8000 and MTS/T-BERD 6000 product lines.
"Fiber networks are both increasingly complex and necessary due to the continued demand for high-bandwidth broadband services, and solutions are needed to help deploy the networks quickly without sacrificing performance," said Steve Lytle, president of Westover Scientific. "Providing the market with reliable cleaning and inspection products that help meet the challenges of deploying high-performance fiber has been the differentiator for Westover Scientific products for over 10 years, and we will build on this commitment as part of JDSU."
For more information, visit: www.jdsu.com
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