EXFO acquires EFOS

17 Jun 2002

A company buyout offers new cure for fiber-optic equipment manufacturer.

EXFO Electro-Optical Engineering in Canada has entered into an agreement to acquire EFOS for 3.7 million EXFO shares and USD 25 million in cash. At the close of markets on 5 March 2001, the total transaction was worth approximately USD 122 million.

EFOS, also based in Canada, is considered to be a leader in precision, light-based, adhesive-spot-curing technologies and curing process control for optical-component manufacturing. Its products deliver precise doses of the appropriate spectral light onto photosensitive and heat-cured adhesives to significantly reduce bonding time and increase repeatability in optical-component manufacturing.

EXFO is a designer and manufacturer of fiber-optic test, measurement and monitoring instruments for the telecommunications industry. "EFOS's ultraviolet and infrared light-based adhesive-spot-curing technologies are critical for the assembly of optical components," said Germain Lamonde, chairman, president and CEO of EXFO. "We intend to leverage EFOS's ultraviolet and infrared light-based curing expertise with the recently acquired Burleigh Instruments' best-in-class, nanopositioning 'Inchworm' technology and our automated component test systems to provide optical-component manufacturers with automated solutions."

"As the optical-component manufacturing industry moves from manual assembly to semi-automated and fully automated production methods, light-based curing becomes a critical technology," said John Kennedy, president and CEO of EFOS.

EXFO says that it plans to retain EFOS's personnel, management and facilities.