Pirelli buys Avanex stake from Alcatel-Lucent

OCTOBER 29, 2007 -- The Pirelli Group (search for Pirelli) has agreed to acquire the 12.4% stake held by Alcatel-Lucent (search for Alcatel-Lucent) in Avanex Corp. (search for Avanex) at a market price of approximately 33.4 million euros.

As part of the agreement, Alcatel-Lucent signed supply agreements with both Pirelli and Avanex for related components. Avanex says that its new agreement runs for three years.

Pirelli now becomes the main industrial investor in Avanex. The company says its Broadband Solutions unit and Avanex, which have complementary technology capabilities, will explore collaboration for the development of optical products to meet growing the requirements of broadband applications such as IPTV.

"The supply agreement with Alcatel-Lucent and the investment in Avanex," said Claudio De Conto, general manager, operations, of Pirelli, "strengthen the group's presence in the core business of second-generation photonics after the startup, in 2001, of the Pirelli Labs advanced research center and the incorporation in early 2005 of Pirelli Broadband Solutions, built on a long history of experience in the field."

"We are glad to continue our relationship with Avanex and Pirelli," stated Romano Valussi, president of Alcatel-Lucent's optics activities. "We continue to make strategic moves that enable our customers to successfully address new opportunities."

"The entry of Pirelli into the share capital of our company," said Jo Major, chairman, president, and chief executive officer of Avanex, "will allow us to continue having as an industrial investor one of the most technologically advanced players in the global optical market with more than 20 years of experience and a high-level research staff. We look forward to the future collaborations with both Alcatel-Lucent and Pirelli to innovate photonic solutions that deliver value to telecommunication networks."

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