Fiber-optic player Oplink of the US recently acquired Taiwan's EZconn for US$30 million, in an attempt to further diversify its product lines. The deal was inked at the end of October 2004 and is expected to finalize in January 2005. The acquisition value consists of US$9 million in cash and US$21 million of Oplink's shares. Under the deal, Oplink will take over EZconn's debts of US$12 million, a rare move among optical communications vendors, who are currently seeking to minimize debts. Oplink also promised not to lay off EZconn's existing workforce of approximately 400 employees.

 

Due to decreased optical communications expenditures among North American enterprises, Oplink has suffered from losses in both revenue and profitability. Through the acquisition, Oplink aims to diversify its product lines and gain access to Japan's FTTH (Fiber-to-the-Home) project, in which EZconn is the largest non-Japanese supplier.