Finisar caps Ignis acquisition

July 5, 2011
Finisar Corp. (NASDAQ: FNSR) says its public offers for outstanding shares of Ignis ASA got close enough for government work – specifically, the Norwegian Government. Finisar acquired 97.25% of the Norwegian company’s outstanding shares for NOK 8 in cash per share. That figure was enough to compel the compulsory transfer provisions of Norwegian law and give Finisar total ownership of the company.

Finisar Corp. (NASDAQ: FNSR) says its public offers for outstanding shares of Ignis ASA got close enough for government work – specifically, the Norwegian Government. Finisar acquired 97.25% of the Norwegian company’s outstanding shares for NOK 8 in cash per share. That figure was enough to compel the compulsory transfer provisions of Norwegian law and give Finisar total ownership of the company.

Ignis is an optical component and subsystem provider with four subsidiaries:

  • Fi-ra Photonics in Korea (71.8% owned)
  • Syntune in Sweden
  • Ignis Photonyx in Denmark
  • SmartOptics in Norway.

Finisar appears to have its eye particularly on Syntune, which develops low-cost tunable lasers. The U.S. company already had an ownership stake in Ignis, then announced this past March its intention to acquire the rest (see “Finisar makes bid to acquire Ignis ASA”).

"Ignis has developed many innovative new technologies and currently offers multiple industry leading products that are focused on attractive growth markets," said Finsar CEO Eitan Gertel at that time. "This acquisition represents an extension of our vertical integration strategy. Ignis has developed, amongst other of its product technologies, a tunable laser that is integrated with a modulator and a semiconductor optical amplifier and that Finisar believes has the highest performance currently available in the market. The Ignis tunable laser will be used in Finisar's industry-leading 10-Gbps tunable 300-pin and tunable XFP product lines.”

Ignis is applying to the Oslo Stock Exchange for the delisting of its shares, which were trading under the symbol IGNIS. The exchange has suspended trading in the Ignis shares pending delisting.

The company also signed entered into a strategic alliance last year with NeoPhotonics for qualification and supply of certain products (see "Ignis signs strategic alliance with NeoPhotonics"). The fate of that agreement is unknown.

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