GigOptix fills acquisitions war chest

Communications semiconductor and optical subsystem vendor GigOptix, Inc. (NYSE MKT: GIG) says it has closed a public offering of 9,218,000 newly issued shares of common stock at a price to the public of $1.70 per share. The process netted the company approximately $14.73 million after underwriting discounts and commissions. The proceeds will be directed toward acquisitions, the company says.

GigOptix executives said via a press release that they they are looking for "acquisitions for strategic growth, including the acquisition of critical technologies and scalable businesses." They apparently have more than one target in their sights, including "entities that the company has been tracking for the last couple of years."

The company recently made a run at GSI Technology, Inc., which makes memory chips. Those efforts were rebuffed.

Formerly iTerra, GigOptix has made several acquisitions and merger transactions involving such companies as Helix and Lumera (see "GigOptix continues evolution with Helix acquisition" and "GigOptix to go public through merger with Lumera"). The merger with Lumera brought the polymer technology that has led to the company's Thin Film on Silicon optical modulators (see, for example, "GigOptix touts optical modulator performance for QAM applications").

For more information on electronic components and suppliers, visit the Lightwave Buyer's Guide.