Optical test firm Exfo bids to buy Yenista Optics

12 Sep 2017

Quebec-based optical test giant aims to buy French R&D test specialist to grow market share across global sales channels.

Exfo's Germain Lamond (c) with Yenista's Alain Poudoulec and Michiel Van Der Keur.

Exfo, the optical network testing, monitoring and analytics systems developer, has signed an agreement to acquire Yenista Optics, subject to various conditions being completed before the deal closes. Terms of the proposed deal were not released.

Yenista Optics is a privately-held company based in Lannion, France, which develops optical test equipment for the R&D and manufacturing markets. Its product portfolio includes benchtop optical spectrum analyzers, tunable lasers and filters and passive optical component test systems for network equipment manufacturers and vendors. The company generated revenue of €5.2 million in 2016 and was profitable, it said.

Exfo commented that Yenista Optics’ offering is “highly complementary” to Exfo’s own optical test portfolio, which largely consists of portable test equipment for the network service provider market.

Germain Lamonde, Executive Chairman of Exfo’s Board of Directors, said, “Yenista Optics has built an impressive product portfolio over the years for the high-end laboratory and manufacturing markets. This transaction would allow Exfo to leverage Yenista’s technology across its global sales channels to expand overall market share.”

Yenista Optics designs and manufactures high-performance, fiber-optic test equipment for a broad range of applications in the R&D and manufacturing markets. Founded in 2003, the company owns more than 20 patents protecting its proprietary technologies on measurement techniques, optical filters and external cavity lasers.

Optical Spectrum analyzers

• Earlier in 2017, Yenista Optics and Aragon Photonics, based in Zaragoza, Spain, which are both manufacturers of fiber optic test and measurement equipment, signed a partnership agreement to collaborate on the development of high-resolution optical spectrum analysis equipment.

The companies agreed to work together on next-generation technology, business development, sales and customer support. The first step of that cooperation was on achieving interoperability of Aragon’s BOSA 100 high resolution optical spectrum analyzer and Yenista’s T100S-HP tunable laser.