Business briefs

28 May 2004

Including news from Bookham Technology, GSI Lumonics, High Q Laser and more.

General news:

•  The Optical Fiber Communication Conference and Exposition (OFC) and the National Fiber Optic Engineers Conference (NFOEC) are to combine in 2005. The new joint event will be held in Anaheim, US, on March 6-11 and will be called OFC/NFOEC 2005.

•  DenseLight Semiconductors of Singapore has announced that its superluminescent diodes (SLEDs) have been deployed in optical networks. The company says its products are the only SLEDs that have been accepted for deployment in carrier-class optical networking equipment.

Acquistions:

•  Bookham Technology, a UK maker of subsystems for optical networks, is to acquire Onetta, a US maker of erbium-doped fiber amplifiers, in an all-stock deal valued at $23.3 million. Onetta recorded a revenue of $3.3million and a loss of $2.1 million in the first quarter of 2004. Giorgio Anania, Bookham’s CEO, seemed confident this could be improved. “We expect Onetta to become cash-generating before the end of 2004,” he said.

Contracts:

•  GSI Lumonics has received a $5 million order for its WaferTrim systems from a US-based integrated circuit manufacturer. GSI expects to deliver the instruments in the second quarter of 2004. The Wafer Trim allows developers to produce multiple devices from the same die.

Distribution agreements:

•  APE of Germany has named High Q Laser’s US division as the exclusive distributor of its picosecond LEVANTE optical parametric oscillator. High Q will be responsible for distributing the system throughout the US and Canada.

Markets:

•  Meko, a UK-based displays market analyst, said that the penetration rate of LCD monitors in Europe rose to 58.5% in the first quarter of 2004, compared with 54% in the previous quarter. “With a seasonal slow-down in demand in Q2 and a rumoured clear-out of 17 inch panel inventory by Samsung, there could be some big problems in the market in the next few months,” said Pete Gamby, Meko’s research director.