JULY 10, 2008 -- Enablence Technologies (search for Enablence Technologies), supplier of fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) equipment for triple-play residential and business services and optical components and subsystems for access, metro, and long haul markets, today announced that it has signed a definitive Asset Purchase Agreement with DuPont Photonics Technologies LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of DuPont, to acquire certain assets of DuPont Photonics based in the Boston suburb of Wilimington, MA, subject to certain approvals, conditions and consents. Concurrent with the agreement, DuPont will make a cash investment in Enablence.
Per the agreement, Enablence will issue common shares equivalent to $9.5 million based on a 30-day average share price prior to the closing of the transaction for the assets and the investment. All shares issued will be subject to the statutory 120 days hold period. The conditions are expected to be satisfied on or before July 24, 2008.
DuPont Photonics has developed a switching fabric using Planar Lightwave Circuits (PLCs) that enable such devices as integrated reconfigurable optical add/drop multiplexers (ROADM), 1xN, MxN and NxN switches and variable optical attenuators. All the intellectual property and associated know-how will be transferred to Enablence under the terms of the agreement.
"DuPont Photonics' product portfolio is complementary to our current component and subsystems offerings and is consistent with our vertical integration strategy that allows us to build on our core technology strength with higher value added products," explains Arvind Chhatbar, CEO of Enablence. "Our acquisitions allow us to focus on capturing innovative products and technologies that will help us solidify our Planar Lightwave Circuit (PLC) leadership position in the access, metro, and long haul markets. We are also pleased with the investment DuPont is making in Enablence, which will permit us to continue to build on the product portfolio we are acquiring from DuPont," he adds.
Enablence also announced that it has made changes to its corporate structure and management team effective today to expedite the integration of DuPont Photonics and other recent acquisitions. DuPont Photonics, Albis Optoelectronics, and ANDevices will now form the Optical Components and Subsystems Division of the Corporation and be headed by Dr. Jacob Sun, who was previously the CEO of ANDevices. He will continue in his role as Chief Operating Officer of Enablence and serve as President of Enablence's new Optical Components and Subsystems Division. Peter Cairoli, the President of Enablence's Albis Optoelectronics, will now head Enablence's European operations to assist in streamlining the Corporation's operations in that region.
Dan Hilton, the current Vice President of Finance and Administration, has been given additional new responsibilities as Senior Vice President for Corporate Development and Administration and will lead Enablence's integration efforts related to recent mergers and acquisitions. Ronald I. Benn, a Chartered Accountant with several years experience as CFO in several publicly traded and private companies, has been appointed as Vice President of Finance, taking over the finance function.
Tom Tighe, the former CEO of Wave 7 Optics, will lead Enablence's efforts in building our FTTx global deployments in his capacity as President of Enablence's new FTTx Networks Division.